Carry On
by tinyhuman02
Summary: What happens when you unexpectedly lose someone close to you? April lost her husband. Alex lost his best friend. Their friendship had always been awkward and full of banters, yet it's possible they could also be each other's biggest support system. AK2; Storylines canon through S8, but mostly AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, folks! Well, this is going to be a little different from what I've been writing since it's AK2, but I've always had a soft side for this pairing (I shipped these two first) and I like their dysfunctional friendship. Anyway, I did take some ideas from my Japril stories, but I'm not calling this a sequel. If you didn't read those here are some things to keep in mind:**

**Mark & Lexie didn't die. Kevin Banks (the douche April punched) works at SGMW and is friends with the gang. April briefly suffered post-traumatic amnesia after a car accident and she returned to Seattle pregnant (from her potty romp at the boards). She and Jackson had a kid named Jordan and they eventually got married. April's youngest sister moved to Seattle for medical school. Catherine Avery works at SGWM as well. Those are pretty much the key things, so hopefully it'll be less confusing for newbies.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Grey's or its characters. If I did, I would've given AK2 a chance :P**

* * *

May 17th, 2018. It was a date April Avery would never forget. Not because of an anniversary or a birthday. That was the day Jackson Avery left her. Left her and everyone he cared about for good. It wasn't his choice to leave. Nobody asked him to leave. A higher power up in the sky decided it was his time. How could a late night diaper run lead to this?

It hadn't rained that day, despite the nonstop downpour that occurred for two straight weeks. Their 10-month old son was almost out of diapers. April wasn't sure how she didn't notice the diaper shortage, but Jackson insisted on stepping out to buy more instead of waiting for the following morning. All three of their boys were already asleep in their bedrooms, so she relaxed in the living room and watched TV.

Then her cell phone rang. Jackson had been gone for almost two hours. It shouldn't have taken that long to buy a pack of diapers for their kid. Something didn't feel right. She could sense it immediately when she saw the number of Seattle Grace Mercy West on the caller ID. Owen Hunt was on the other line, his voice sounding gloomy and disturbed. Her husband was at the hospital. Car accident. A broadside collision with a drunk driver ten minutes away from their house. There wasn't time to call a babysitter, so she scooped up the children one by one and brought them to her car. Each of them woke up either cranky or crying, but her mind was on driving to the hospital safely and in one piece.

The doctors worked furiously to keep Jackson alive. She waited for an hour, which turned into two and eventually into three. Catherine Avery kept April company, helping her watch the kids while she hoped and prayed her own baby boy would make it out of the operating room alive. Richard Webber, now retired from surgery, added a source of comfort. Alice Kepner, who was a surgical intern at the hospital, joined her sister in the lobby. She was banned from the OR because she was family. The updates came sporadically. When there was news to share it was always the same or barely different.

The presence of Owen caught their attention, but April feared the worst. He appeared exhausted and distraught. She knew what it meant, yet she refused to hear it.

"I'm sorry," was all he could say before she dropped to her knees and broke down. He knelt down beside her, hugging her tightly and whispering as many comforting words he could process in his head.

Brain hemorrhage. Derek Shepherd did everything he could to stop the excessive bleeding, but the damage was too overwhelming.

Two of the Avery boys were sound asleep on the cushioned chairs when the news of their father's death was announced. How was she going to explain to them that Daddy was gone? They were all too young. They wouldn't understand.

Catherine buried her face into her hands and sobbed, while Richard held her close. Alice carried the youngest Avery against her chest as the tears flowed down her cheeks. And from afar, Alex Karev watched the scene unfold with tears in his eyes. He had been a part of the surgery to try to save Jackson's life. They started off as enemies and they became best friends. His best friend was dead. So was April's. What had the plastic surgeon done to deserve this fate? The world was full of bullshit in his mind.

* * *

The funeral took place three days later. The Avery's and April agreed to have Jackson be buried beside Charles Percy and Reed Adamson, their Mercy West friends who unfortunately passed away during a mass shooting at the hospital eight years ago. It was fitting. One day, the trauma surgeon would be joining them and resting in peace right next to her husband.

She had cried for three straight days that she could no longer shed tears at the funeral. Her eyes were bloodshot from the nights when she couldn't sleep and sobbed into her pillow instead. Staring at Jackson's coffin, she felt like somebody was playing a nasty joke on her and her husband would pop out any second to tell her, "Gotcha!"

It was all so surreal. They were happily married for four years, having just celebrated their 4-year anniversary two months ago. And her fairy tale ending had turned into a nightmare. Her Prince Charming had vanished. He left behind three beautiful boys for her to take care of alone. She almost hated him for leaving her the way he did. Why couldn't he have just waited until morning to buy more diapers?

Because he cared about his family and always put them ahead of himself. If their youngest son needed diapers, he was going to go out and buy them regardless of what time it was. He was unselfish and the best father anybody could ask for. Now, their children were going to grow up having barely known Jackson Avery, plastic surgeon and world's greatest dad.

Alex sat across from April with Jackson's coffin resting in between them. He quietly observed the people on her side. Her mother, Karen Kepner, was seated beside her and Alice on her other side. Libby and Kimmie Kepner were next to Alice and their husbands and children filled the rest of the chairs. Big Joe Kepner would have been sitting with them if he hadn't died unexpectedly of a heart attack in December of 2012. The peds surgeon figured he would take good care of his son-in-law.

Mark and Lexie Sloan sat directly behind April, each with a 4-year old twin sitting on their laps. Maxwell on his father's and Andrew on his mother's. Lexie was also six months pregnant with a little girl. Beside them were Callie Torres and Arizona Robbins. They too had their children on their laps. Sofia, now 6 years old, appeared cozy in Callie's arms, while 1-year old Timothy slept peacefully against Arizona's shoulder.

But Alex's eyes always returned to the three bluish-green eyed boys in the front row. Those kids lost their father and they had no idea. Well, maybe one of them did.

Jordan Charles Avery was distracted by the sounds of an airplane flying in the sky as he sat on Alice's lap. The 5-year old carried his stuffed tiger, Benny, in one arm as his head tilted up to watch the aircraft zoom by. That tiger was almost falling apart, if it wasn't already. He had a button for a right eye and his orange and black stripes were faded and worn out. Alex was closest to the oldest Avery boy. He took care of him from the minute he was born, keeping a close eye on him when he stayed in the NICU. And he was his godfather after all.

He was an energetic and talkative little boy with a vivid imagination. The stories that came out of his tiny mouth could make anybody laugh for hours. And he took after Jackson in the athletic department. He loved basketball, football and soccer. April wanted their children to be active at a young age. His first year of soccer would happen in the fall. For now, he was enjoying t-ball. He also loved his brothers, helping them get around by assisting in pushing their strollers or giving them a kiss goodnight before bed.

Sitting on Karen's lap was Cameron Joseph Avery. He was a completely different story. Unlike his older brother, the 3-year old was quiet and bashful. He mostly spoke to family members, but when it came to unfamiliar faces he would hide behind one of his parents' legs as if he were invisible. Cameron arrived into the world two weeks late. That's how freaking shy he was.

He sported a pair of small black glasses. Prior to his second birthday, he was diagnosed with nearsightedness. April suspected one of her kids would be required to wear glasses since she had worn them from childhood until she had laser eye surgery when she was 21 years old. They just didn't expect it to happen so early in life. The glasses suited him because he was the curious one of the bunch. He observed his surroundings like he was trying to analyze them. He wanted to know why things worked the way they did. For an hour, he once played with the remote control and pushed the buttons to see what would happen.

"My little scientist," Alex heard April tell people countless times. In a way, it was true. If he could easily predict which Avery kid would certainly become a doctor, it was Cam.

Lastly, nestled against April's chest was Logan Brighton Avery. Only 10 months old, he felt sorry for the little dude. Jordan and Cameron had the opportunities to have conversations with Jackson. Logan hadn't even said his first real word yet. He wondered if he would be taught to pronounce Daddy anyway. Who the hell was he going to call Daddy?

The youngest Avery was attached to both of his parents, but Jackson especially. While Jordan was a mama's boy, Logan was the opposite. He spent a lot of naps on top of his father's chest. His smile was the brightest whenever Jackson greeted him in the morning and retrieved him from his crib. One day, he will ask why his daddy hasn't been around. Yeah, that conversation was going to be uncomfortable as hell.

Three young boys and… April. He hated himself for thinking about it, but he wasn't sure she could handle them by herself. She would probably turn them all into wimpy pretty boys. Those kids needed a father figure in their lives. Why not their cool Uncle Alex? They had fun hanging out with him, which surprised most of their peers. Despite working in Pediatrics, the parenting gig wasn't exactly his thing. He didn't have a woman to procreate with anyway. There was one missed opportunity after another. Commitment scared him ever since Izzie Stevens left him. He had a chance with Jo Wilson, but she came and went… into the arms of his former roommate, Kevin Banks. Now, they were freaking engaged and Jackson was supposed to be his best man.

To make matters worse, Izzie moved back to Seattle with her husband a year ago. She was Izzie Daniels now. His name was Brian or… Bart. He never bothered trying to learn the guy's first name. They had a child of their own, a 2-year old daughter named Shelly and a spitting image of his ex-wife. She was an attending surgeon in the Oncology department. Every once in a while, they collaborated to treat a tiny human battling leukemia. He loathed it. She kept everything professional, but she also felt the awkwardness whenever they were in the same room.

Izzie sat beside Lexie with her family. She only knew Jackson and April for barely a year and she was crying more than the trauma surgeon, whose eyes remained dry. Why was she crying so much?

But she had formed some lame super mom trio with April and Lexie. The threesome grew into a close-knit group, getting together on Sunday's to talk about how amazing it was to be a mother… or something like that. Whatever. Men weren't allowed to join them, so he was clueless about what they actually discussed.

Like Alex, April had been scanning the various people attending the funeral. It somewhat kept her mind from drifting to the coffin that contained her husband. Just looking at it was dreadful.

The Avery's were seated on the other side. His oldest sister, Samantha Avery, bawled loudly. She had never seen her sister-in-law unleash so much emotion. Sometimes she thought she was a robot because she hid her emotions well. Comforting her was his other sister, Joslyn Avery. She quietly cried as she gently rubbed her older sister's back. April confirmed in her head that these two were indeed human.

Harper Avery Jr. and Harper Avery Sr. were next to each other. After years of not hearing from each other, they still weren't on good terms, but they agreed to be civil towards one another in respect for Jackson. Catherine Avery covered her eyes with a handkerchief as she cried incessantly. She had to be sedated at the hospital after she learned of her son's death. She was hysterical and angry at the doctors who failed to save his life.

Seated behind Alex were Meredith Grey and Derek. She could see the guilt on the neurosurgeon's face. He had been able to save her life after her own traumatic car accident, but he couldn't do the same for Jackson. Of course he would feel guilty. He kissed the top of 6-year old Zola's head as a source of comfort. To his right, Meredith held their 3-year old son, Nathan George, on her lap. He was their miracle baby. Despite having a hostile uterus, she was able to carry him to full term and he was born healthy.

Her silent observation was quickly interrupted by the high-pitched voice sitting beside her.

"Daddy's up there, right?" Jordan asked curiously as he pointed up in the sky. "He's up there with Grampa Joe. Right, Mommy?"

All of the attention was on her son, unsure if she should be embarrassed or proud that he understood what happened to Jackson. Perhaps his question was a blessing in disguise because many of the grieving guests managed to smile at him. It had been days since anybody showed any sign of happiness.

April didn't understand how Jordan could be so upbeat at a funeral. He cried like any other kid would after she explained to him why his daddy wasn't going to be around anymore. Just the other night, he couldn't sleep because he wanted Jackson to tuck him in. But being energetic and happy was a part of his personality. He was a brave kid. She was glad he could stay strong through all of this, though maybe he was a bit too happy for her taste.

"Y-yes, baby. Daddy's up there with God," she softly answered, her voice slightly hoarse from the endless crying she had done for three straight days. "He- he's watching us from one of those clouds."

"Which one?" Jordan scanned the various fluffy clouds above them. He immediately pointed at the largest cloud he could find. "I think it's that one! Daddy's a big guy. He needs a big cloud."

Alice cleared her throat after she was choked up with tears. "Very good, Jordan," she whispered. "You found him. Pay attention to the service now, okay? We'll be going home soon."

Home. Without Jackson. April caught everybody off-guard when she swiftly handed Logan to her mother and ran. She wasn't sure where exactly she was running off to nor did she care that her heels made it extremely uncomfortable to run, but she desperately needed to get away. Hiding behind a tree, she vomited. Everything was sinking in now and she felt sick and numb. A widow. She was a freaking widow. She thought that wouldn't happen until she was old and gray. While she always believed she could toughen up when it was necessary, she felt incredibly vulnerable. She didn't want her boys to see her this way. Hell, anybody. She wanted to close her eyes and simply disappear from everyone's sight.

* * *

The post-funeral service took place at the Avery residence. It was located not too far from Alex's home, which he bought from Meredith several years before, about three blocks away.

The mood was morose, though the various children playing in the living room slightly cancelled out the sadness. Everybody who had a chance to speak with April offered their condolences, some with casseroles she probably would throw away a few days later. What was she going to do with so many casseroles? Now, she understood what Teddy Altman went through after her husband, Henry Burton, passed away. Pity food is what they all were.

She hid in the kitchen, staring at the numerous untouched dishes of casserole on her island counter. From an appearance standpoint, some of them weren't worth a sniff. She could always give some away rather than dump it in the garbage. Alex never passed up free food. He hardly cooked to begin with, so he would be taken care of for at least a week.

Lexie and Izzie entered the kitchen to check on their friend for what seemed like the fifth time in an hour. They expected her to be a sobbing mess for at least a month, but so far, April hadn't cried all day. It was impressive, especially for someone who wore her heart on her sleeve.

"How are you holding up?" Izzie asked as she gently squeezed April's shoulder. "Do you need anything?"

"You guys, I'm fine. You don't have to ask me the same questions every 15 minutes," April insisted. She gestured her hand towards the casseroles. "I really don't want to waste any of this. Can you take some home? Lexie, you're pregnant. The baby might appreciate homemade casserole."

Lexie scrunched her nose and shook her head. "Unfortunately, the smell of casserole makes me gag," she politely declined. She picked up a piece of celery from a plate and dipped it in ranch. "So, umm… how much time off is Owen giving you?"

"He told me to return to work when I'm ready," she glumly answered and sighed. "But I have kids to feed. I can't be away from the hospital too long. Besides, my mom will live with us for as long as she wants. She'll watch the boys after I start working again. And Hunt's going to choose his Head of Trauma soon. I have to be around for that."

"Yeah, but if Hunt's not giving you a specific date to return, then you should take advantage of that time. You know, be with your kids. Logan won't be an infant for long," Izzie advised. She softly smiled. "I know you love catching his milestones."

"Jackson and I normally caught them together," April mumbled with a frown on her face. She blinked away the tears that quickly formed in her eyes. She refused to cry in front of her friends. "Like I said many times now, I'll be fine. I've got my mom and Alice to help me out. And you guys, of course. Thank you for being so supportive."

Both Izzie and Lexie hugged the redhead at the same time. She loved having two close girlfriends who were always there for her.

When Izzie first arrived they hit it off fairly quickly. They shared stories of incidents involving Alex and bonded through that. The oncologist opened up to her about their failed marriage. April assured her he was a different person than he was during their residency. A bit more mature, though his insecurities often showed whenever he interacted with his ex-wife. Izzie suspected he hated her for returning to Seattle and rubbing her new life in his face. They never had full closure and still didn't.

Alex sauntered into the kitchen, interrupting the touching girl moment between the threesome. He uncomfortably stared at them as their attention turned to him. "I just want another beer," he muttered as he walked to the refrigerator.

April waited for him to fetch a new bottle before she pointed at the casseroles. "Alex, do you want to take some of these home? I, uhh… I thought you'd want to avoid Chinese takeout for once."

"Sure, whatever," he replied, then he briefly made eye contact with her. "I'm sorry about Avery."

She didn't respond because he left the kitchen before giving her the chance to. They hadn't really spoken to each other since Jackson died. It wasn't that they weren't close friends. They eventually formed a solid friendship, which didn't consist of daily banters between them. Alex was always at their house, watching some sporting event with Jackson in their living room or coming over to eat one of April's dinners. But he hadn't visited them once since the plastic surgeon passed away.

He had become angry, lashing out at others when they asked him harmless questions. He watched his best friend die. April dodged a bullet by not having seen his monitor flatline in the OR. She was a wreck, but he was messed up too. The whole situation disgusted him. He hated the world for doing this to Jackson and his family.

Sipping his newly opened beer, Alex felt a light tug on his black dress coat. He looked down to see Jordan standing in front of him with a smile on his face. How could this kid be so freaking happy on such a crappy day?

"Uncle Alex, can I show you somethin' upstairs?" the little boy eagerly asked.

"Of course, dude," he answered as enthusiastic as possible.

Jordan grasped his hand and led him upstairs. They entered his bedroom, which was decorated with sports posters and decals on the wall. He had a Cincinnati Bengals poster hanging above his racecar bed. He figured out that Benny's name was short for the tiger breed. Plus, there was the Ohio connection with April. At least he picked the better NFL team located in Ohio.

Alex plopped down on the small blue racecar bed and casually sipped his beer. He briefly scanned the bedroom, while Jordan retrieved whatever he wanted to show him. A Harvard football poster hung over his dresser. Jackson's influence. There was an Ohio State Buckeyes poster by his window that he scowled at and a University of Akron men's soccer poster. Both April's influence. A Seattle Sounders scarf hung on a door hanger along with a UCLA Bruins hat. Aunt Alice's influence. He owned tons of University of Washington memorabilia. This kid rooted for a lot of teams thanks to his relatives. He purposely gave his godson an Iowa Hawkeyes t-shirt for his fifth birthday and April jokingly said she was going to burn it. Jordan wore it maybe once. She probably did burn it.

The cheerful little boy ran out of his closet holding a fishing pole that was about a foot taller than him. It was his favorite color orange, of course. "I gots my own fishing pole!" he excitedly gloated. "I get to use it when we go camping next month, right?"

_Ah, shit_, the peds surgeon cursed in his head. He completely forgot about the annual camping trip he, Jackson and Kevin organized every year in June for the past three years. The three men would seclude themselves in the woods for three days and relax. Fishing, hiking, drinking until they threw up. This year was supposed to be different because Jordan would be joining them for his first camping trip. Would April even allow him to go now? He had been looking forward to the trip since Jackson told him about it on his birthday as a semi-present.

"You're right," he reluctantly said, loosening his black tie. Everything had suddenly become uncomfortable. Here he was, faking a smile for the kid who just lost his father, while Jordan was genuinely happy about using his new fishing pole next month. "Hey, have a seat next to me, buddy."

Jordan did as he was told and hopped onto his bed. Alex set his beer bottle on the floor before he faced his godson. "You're a good kid. You know, your mom's going to need a lot of help from you as the man of the house. There are going to be days when she's tired or sad or both, so you gotta do your best to cheer her up, alright?"

He nodded his small head. "Mommy cries a lot at night," he noted. "When's she gonna stop being sad?"

"That's a tough question, dude," Alex replied and sighed. "When people… when the people they love go away forever it takes a lot of time to stop being sad. Some people become happy sooner and some take a long time. It's different from person to person."

"I don't like being sad, 'specially in front of Mommy," Jordan admitted, frowning.

"It's okay. I know you want to be a brave boy for her," Alex sadly smiled. "Your dad would be so proud of the way you handle things at your age."

Jordan's lip quivered as he thought about Jackson. "I miss Daddy," he tearfully said before he lowered his head and cried.

"C'mere, kid." Alex swooped up his godson into his arms and hugged him. He soothingly rubbed his back as tears formed in his own eyes. He immediately rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger. "We all miss him."

Moving on from this was going to be harder than he originally thought.

* * *

It was around eight o'clock at night when most of the guests had left the Avery residence. April was physically and emotionally exhausted after putting Logan to bed and reading one of Cameron's favorite books before he fell asleep. Karen offered to tuck Jordan in to give her daughter a break. Alice stuck around to help her sister clean up the house.

Of the few guests remaining, Mark carried a sleeping Max and Andy against his shoulders as he waited for Lexie by the front door. His wife was doing one last check up on April before they left for their own home.

"Remember, just call me if you want some company," Lexie reminded April as they exchanged a hug. "I can stop by tomorrow. I'll bring the boys with me, so they can play with Jordan and Cam."

"Sounds good, Lex." April pulled away from the neurosurgeon, forcing herself to smile. "Goodnight, you guys."

Mark nodded. "Take care," he quietly responded. The Head of Plastics was just as devastated about Jackson's death. He didn't just lose his best student. Jackson was like a younger brother to him. He felt as if he literally lost a blood relative.

The Sloan's let themselves out, while April lazily strolled into the kitchen to clean up. She sighed at the sight of the leftover casseroles she failed to give away. Izzie brought home a few and so did Kevin, but there were still too many dishes she didn't want to keep. She gathered the numerous empty beer bottles sitting on the counter by the sink and carried them to the recycling bin outside. After she dumped them into the bin, she looked up at the sky. Somewhere up in the clouds, her husband was watching her and letting her know he still loved her.

"Love you too," she softly said, then she walked back into her house. She found Alex in the kitchen, stacking dishes of casseroles against his arm. "Do you want some help with that?"

"I got it, but thanks," he murmured.

April bit her lower lip, wondering why he acted distant towards her. "Did I do something wrong?"

"What the hell kind of question is that? Of course not," he retorted. Alex softly groaned when she frowned at him. "Look, I'm not good at this… grieving crap. I don't want to say the wrong thing to you or whatever. Jackson… he was my best friend. He was yours too for fuck's sake. I'm sorry for not being around these past few days to see how you're doing. You're not the only one having a hard time dealing with this. I was in the freakin' OR when he… it sucked."

"I… I understand," she timidly replied. "It's fine, Alex."

He set the casseroles on the island counter, then he approached her. Pulling her in for a hug, he gently rested his chin against the top of her head. "I guess… we can try to get through this together," he suggested. "I know you have Lexie and Izzie for support, but face it. They're going to drive you nuts. I noticed they were pestering you all day."

She managed to chuckle. "I suppose."

"And uhh, Jordan. He's taking it a lot harder than he's showing," he added. "So, I thought maybe… I could take him and Cam out once in a while, do some male bonding or something. Maybe bring them to a Sounders game when I'm free."

"That would be great," she mumbled against his chest, then she pulled away from him and softly smiled. "Thank you. The boys enjoy spending time with you, so that'll help a ton."

Alex picked up the stack of casseroles and walked to the front door with April. "If you need anything, I'm just a couple of minutes away," he offered.

"I know." She opened the door for him and followed him outside to his car. "Sometimes I still think he's coming back, that he hit bad traffic on the way home."

"Oh," he awkwardly replied.

April folded her arms and forced herself to laugh. "It's stupid, huh? I'm just not ready to let him go."

"It's not stupid," the peds surgeon assured her as he opened the passenger door. "It's realistic. Why should you let him go so easily? Jackson was the love of your life. No freakin' way you move on that quickly. Seriously, it's not stupid at all, April."

"Okay," she responded with a nod.

Alex finished carefully stacking his casseroles on the passenger seat, then he walked around his car to the driver's side. "Have a good night. Try to get some sleep," he said before he got into his car.

April quickly waved at him as he drove away. She returned to her house where Alice waited for her by the stairs. "Ready to go?"

"Actually, I thought I could crash on your couch instead," she insisted. Alice gestured her hand towards her older sister. "You should go rest, Apes. You've had a long day. Mom and I will finish cleaning up, okay?"

"Thanks, Alice." She gave her a hug before she slowly marched up the stairs. "Love you."

"Love you too."

Instead of going straight to her bedroom, April decided to check on each of her boys. Logan was first and he slept peacefully in his crib. Cameron snoozed away in his own bed. And finally, she crept into Jordan's bedroom to see how we was doing. Alex's comment about her son made her even more concerned about her first born baby. She understood why he hadn't cried in front of her the whole day. He knew how upset she had been over the last few days. She always believed he was smarter than his age.

After kissing his forehead, the oldest Avery kid stirred in his sleep. "Mommy?"

"Yes, Jordan?" she whispered.

"Can you sleep next to me tonight?" he asked, his little eyes now wide open and focused on her.

April smiled. "Sure." She was too disturbed to sleep in the master bedroom anyway. Too many reminders of Jackson waited for her inside. Gingerly climbing onto the racecar bed, she lay on her side next to her son and held him against her chest. "Goodnight, baby. I love you."

"G'night, Mommy. I love you too." He looked up at the ceiling. "G'night, Daddy."

Hearing him say goodnight to Jackson broke her heart. April closed her eyes tightly to prevent the tears from flowing out. She had gone through the entire day without crying. She didn't want to break that streak.

"Goodnight, Jackson," she softly said. And for the first time in days, she was able to fall asleep.

* * *

**Please leave a review! I would appreciate your feedback considering this is a different kind of story :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews! Looking forward to seeing what you think of this fic. I don't have a set schedule for updates like my other fics, but I'll try to post a new chapter at least once a week.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Two weeks had passed since April lost her husband. There were days when she would simply stop whatever she was doing and cry, but there were also days when she could happily go through them without shedding a tear. If she hadn't had children who could make her laugh at the drop of a hat, she would have been the most miserable woman alive. It was Jordan's imaginary stories, Cameron's curiosity about the light switch or Logan's giggles that helped her pass the time without breaking down. Although, she occasionally felt guilty that she forced herself to smile even when she wasn't happy.

Karen's presence was comforting. She went through her own difficult time after Big Joe died. If anybody could help her through this time of grief, it was her own mother. Libby and Kimmie were reluctant to return home, but April ensured them that she would be alright. Her oldest sister had taken charge of the farm in Moline for the last three years and Kimmie had grown into a successful actress on Broadway.

Alex had been a bigger help than she anticipated. He took time out of his work schedule to drive Jordan to t-ball practice and he even brought his godson and Cameron to a Seattle Sounders game like he promised. He was more supportive with the boys than he was with her, though. They were going to deal with it together, he insisted. But so far, nothing. She couldn't blame him. He was never one to fully express his feelings in a non-douchey way.

So April decided to do something about their lack of communication. She asked him to come to her house on his day off. They were going to clean out Jackson's half of the closet together. Of course, she never told him that. She had been dreading this day. His clothes and shoes were left virtually untouched since the day he left. She wasn't exactly sure what to do with them. Donating them was the best option, but there were some clothes she personally refused to give away. Like the white dress shirt he wore on their very first date. He had more than one white dress shirt, but she could point out which one it was because there was a stain on one of the sleeves from dinner that she could never remove.

She thought she could keep everything and wait to see if Jordan would grow big enough to fit in them. But he was only five. By the time he was eighteen, his father's clothes could be out of style. She didn't want to leave them in the closet and pick up dust. Just staring at them gave her eerie feelings that his presence was haunting her. She spent more nights sleeping next to Jordan because lying in her own bed reminded her that the other half would always be empty.

Alex stopped at the doorway of the master bedroom where April sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the open walk-in closet. He cleared his throat to get her attention. "Uhh, your mom said you were up here, so… what's up?" he awkwardly greeted her.

"I thought you could help me… clean out Jackson's side of the closet," she hesitantly answered as she stood up from the bed and approached him. "And so we can talk. We haven't really done that lately."

"Yeah… sure. We can talk," he slowly said, his eyes peering at the closet. He looked down at the empty cardboard boxes sitting on the floor. "Where are you shipping them to?"

"I haven't decided yet," she replied with a shrug. "Goodwill? Maybe Catherine will want to keep them? She did ask me what I'm going to do with Jackson's stuff. They need to go somewhere. Anywhere but here."

Alex walked towards the closet, peeking his head inside. He stared at the plastic surgeon's organized shoes, which were arranged by color and brand. He let out a low whistle. "So, uhh… were the shoes your doing or Avery's?"

"That was Jackson," she said, softly smiling. "He took care of his shoes like they were his babies too. You know how big of a sneakerhead he is- was."

He slightly grimaced at her quick rebound. She likely had a difficult time referring to Jackson in past tense form. "I guess we can start with the shoes first," he suggested, entering the closet.

She watched him pick up a pair of black and blue Adidas basketball shoes. "Why don't you take some, Alex? I think you and Jackson wear about the same size. I mean, if… if you want them," she inquired.

"Why would I want a dead guy's shoes?" he bluntly asked, though he immediately regretted it when he saw the pained expression on her face. "You… you don't think it's weird?"

"He was your best friend," she quietly answered. "I thought maybe he'd want you to have them."

"Oh," he murmured. "I guess I can bring some home with me. Are you sure?"

April nodded. "I don't mind at all." She sat beside Alex on the floor as they began sorting through her husband's sneakers. "Thanks for coming. I didn't initially tell you why I wanted you to come because I thought you wouldn't if you knew."

"Well, I've been kind of an ass by not keeping my word with you. Having to deal with Jackson's stuff, you shouldn't have to do it alone," he insisted. The peds surgeon briefly looked up at her. She was clearly trying to put on her brave face for him. "How are you doing?"

"Some days are good, some not so much," she admitted. "But I manage. How's it going at the hospital?"

"Crappy, as usual," he muttered. "I get the dumbest interns, I swear. Except for Alice. She's not an idiot like the others, but she's always following around Derek or Lexie, so I hardly get to work with her."

"Just request to have her on your service. I'm sure it'll happen."

There was a long period of silence between them while they separated Jackson's shoes into two categories – donations and Alex's. He felt uneasy choosing which pairs to keep. To him, it almost felt like he was stealing from his friend. He kept his guilt to himself because April insisted on letting him take the ones he wanted. Dude did have good taste in shoes.

He could see the torn expression on her face whenever she placed the shoes he didn't keep inside of the boxes. He needed to say something to distract her because he anticipated a breakdown at any minute.

"Banks and I are going on that camping trip in a couple of weeks," he mentioned, which caught her attention. "Umm, Jordan still wants to come with us, but if you're not comfortable with it-"

"No, you should take him. He'll be crushed if I don't let him go. We didn't buy him that fishing pole, so he could use it in the bathtub," she jokingly said, trying to ease away the tension. "He can go. I'm completely okay with it."

Alex nodded once. "Cool."

The camping trip was going to be a nice break way from the hospital and the city life in general. It always allowed him to clear his stress from work and any issues he was dealing with at the moment. Although it was exclusively for the guys, he thought they could make an exception.

"Do you want to join us? You could use the getaway yourself."

"What? No, I can't," she replied and softly smiling. "It's supposed to be a thing for you guys, so you can talk about the crap you don't want me to hear. I'd just be in the way."

"Trust me, April. You need it more than I do," he insisted. "It'll help you relax. You'll be free of mommy duties. Kevin and I will take care of Jordan for you."

She politely shook her head. "But Jordan being away from me for a few days could help him. If I'm around, he'll be more concerned about me than having fun with you two. I want him to become an independent-"

"Fine, don't go," he interrupted one of her many rambles, adding an eye roll. "Just thought you'd be into the nature crap since you grew up on a farm. Whatever."

April raised her eyebrow at Alex. Despite their improved friendship over the years, he wasn't the most inviting person when it came to activities like camping. "You really want me to go?" she asked curiously, a little skeptical.

Alex smirked at her. "Would I have invited you if I didn't?"

"I just thought… you were being nice," she admitted. "But if you don't mind having me around during your macho man fest, then I'll go. Just don't end up regretting inviting me."

"Depends on if you force me to end up regretting it," he quipped. "Just to give you a heads up, we're practically in the middle of nowhere. No electricity or showers, so we don't bathe until we return home. Wilderness life."

She scrunched her nose in disgust. "Umm, yeah. I'm aware. Jackson always came home looking and smelling filthy," she recalled, then she frowned. "I'm never going to be washing his clothes again."

He pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows. He should have known camping would somehow resort back to Jackson. What could they talk about that wouldn't have anything to do with him? She would find a way for it to relate to her late husband regardless of what they talked about. It was damn near impossible to avoid his name, especially when she was still deep into the grieving period.

Think. Think. Think.

Time was running out. If he couldn't figure out a topic to discuss, she was going to unleash the tears soon.

"I don't have cancer," he blurted out. Her eyes slowly gazed up at him with a puzzled expression on her face. "I… uhh, had my prostate checked out and results came back negative. No cancer."

"That's great for you," she timidly replied and smiled. "I'm glad you're healthy. Why don't you stay for dinner as a thank you for helping me today? I have a feeling you ate all of the casseroles you brought home by now."

"As long as you're not having freakin' casserole tonight. I'm sick of that shit," he said, making her laugh. "What's for dinner?"

"I have no idea. My mom's cooking dinner, so you'll just have to wait and find out yourself," she teased before she stood up to grab an empty box just outside of the closet. "So, that's a yes?"

Alex had eaten Karen's cooking in the past. Kepner's knew how to make delicious meals. He would be stupid to pass up a home cooked meal over Chinese takeout.

"Of course," he answered with a smile.

* * *

"And then, and then the shark went arrrrrgh!" Jordan enthusiastically explained his recollection of _Finding Nemo 3_ to everybody at the dinner table. They had all finished eating Karen's pot roast, which meant the oldest Avery kid was allowed to share whatever story he had been dying to tell them. He spread his arms out as wide as he could. "The shark was this big! I think it was bigger than this table!"

"Dis big?" Cameron quietly asked, spreading out his own arms.

"Bigger than that. Prolly bigger than Seattle!"

Alex had to chuckle. Not only did Jordan have the most vivid imagination for a 5-year old but his lisp made his stories even more amusing to listen to. The little dude sometimes had a lisp when he pronounced his S's and C's. Seattle turned into "Theattle" and juice turned into "juith". And whenever he reached the climax of his story, his voice grew louder and more high-pitched. It reminded him of April. He was a rambler, taking after his mother, but he rambled with a purpose. She normally rambled when she complained or was flustered about something, which always annoyed him.

Karen listened quietly with her elbows resting on the table, clasping her hands underneath her chin with a smile on her face. April would nod and grin as much as possible to show her interest, but Alex was convinced she wanted her son to finish soon so he could take a bath. Cameron was staring at his big brother like he was a god, completely sucked into the story. And Logan was slowly dozing off, like he could fall over in his high chair at any second.

Jordan hadn't finished his story because his mind switched to another topic that popped up in his head. "Uncle Alex, can you come to my t-ball game tomorrow?"

"You forgot to use the magic word, sweetie," April reminded him.

"_Please_, Uncle Alex?" he begged. "I think I'll hit a homerun this time!"

The peds surgeon snickered. Homeruns never happened in t-ball. Kids had a better chance of whacking the actual tee than the baseball. But he had stayed for a few of Jordan's practices in the past, before and after Jackson passed away. The two men would sit back and watch in amusement as Jordan swung as hard as he could. No matter how hard he hit that ball, it would never fly far enough for a homerun. He felt like he owed it to him to watch one of his games.

"Sure, dude. I'll watch you hit a homerun tomorrow," he happily obliged, noticing April's nod of approval. She must have hoped he would agree to come. Jordan wasn't spoiled by any means, but it was difficult to say no to him, especially now. His daddy wasn't going to see him hit his first homerun… in person anyway.

"Hey, guess what? Your mom's going camping with us," Alex added.

Jordan covered his mouth with his hand and giggled. "But Mommy's a girl," he pointed out. "I thought it's sposed to be for big boys."

"Girls can go camping too, baby. Don't worry. I won't get in the way of your big boy fun," April chimed in, gently patting her son's hand. She let out an exhausted sigh as she stood up from her seat. "Okay, it's bath time, boys. Follow Grandma upstairs, alright? I'll come tuck you in for bed when you're finished."

Karen picked up Logan from his high chair and took Cameron's hand. She smiled at Alex as she left the dining room with all three Avery boys. "Goodnight, Alex. Thank you for staying."

"It's no problem, really. Thanks for dinner," he replied before waved at the boys. "Later, dudes."

"Bye, Uncle Alex!" Jordan cheerfully said, waving back at him.

Alex helped April bring the dishes into the kitchen. He leaned back against the counter with his arms folded, while she started washing everything next to him at the sink. "So, you're seriously going camping with us?"

"Yeah, why not?" Without looking at him, she had a smirk on her face. "You think I can't handle a few days in the woods because I'm well… me? I'm a farm girl. Nature doesn't faze me."

"It's not the nature I'm worried about. It's you freaking out because you can't take a freakin' shower," he teased. "Face it. Hygiene's one of your best friends. You'll probably end up hiding out in your tent all weekend, so you don't get dirty."

"You obviously don't know me as well as you might think," she implied. "Because I went camping many times when I was a kid. I do know what it's like to be away from civilization and showers. Anyway, I'll find a way to keep clean. I'm always prepared."

"Of course. You're April Kep- Avery." She gave him a quick look as he cleared his throat. Even after she and Jackson got married, he continued to mistakenly call her Kepner. She changed her name at work, but he still referred to her by her maiden name. After a while, she gave up on correcting him. "Anyway, what time is Jordan's game?"

"One o'clock."

Alex faced slightly dropped. "Crap, I have a surgery scheduled at 12:30. Liver transplant. Kid's been on the waiting list for three months now, so I can't reschedule," he guiltily said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, I won't be able to make it. Dammit, I should've asked you this earlier. Jordan's gonna think I lied to him."

April softly smiled at him. "Alex, it's okay. I can tell him you have to work. He'll understand," she assured him. "There are other games left on the schedule that you might be able to attend. Don't worry about it."

"Well, maybe I can have Robbins take over. She's on the case too," he suggested.

"It's just a t-ball game. They don't even keep score and it only lasts for three innings," she added and laughed. "You're better off in the OR saving that child's life. Jordan will forgive you. You're his favorite uncle."

"Which is why I should be there." He pointed at himself. "My dad never bothered to watch me play in anything when I was young because he was too busy getting off on heroin or beating up on my mom. And I owe it to Jordan because Jackson's-"

She abruptly stopped washing the dishes and turned to face him. "Don't even say it," raising her voice as she cut him off. "I know you and Jordan are close and I appreciate how much time you've been spending with him, but you're not his father. Don't act like it's your job to always be there for him just because Jackson isn't around anymore, alright? I can handle it. We're going to be fine."

He scowled at her. "Why the hell are you bitching at me for being supportive?" he angrily asked. "The kid needs a male role model in his life. Without one, he'll probably turn into some wimpy ballerina."

"Okay, you have no right criticizing my parenting skills. What do you know about parenting, Alex?" she retorted. "You're a lonely man without any kids. Why haven't you found anybody to settle down with?"

"I don't need to listen to your crap," he snapped and walked out of the kitchen. Picking up a couple of boxes full of Jackson's shoes that he decided to keep, he left the house without saying another word to April.

* * *

"More suction, Kepner," Alex ordered from his side of the operating table. He managed to snatch Alice for his patient's liver transplant surgery the next day. After his spat with April, he had been moody at work and since he couldn't take out his anger on her the next best option was her sister. "Your sister never stopped being a pain, you know that?"

Alice raised both of her eyebrows as she looked up at him. "Excuse me?"

"April. She got all bent out of shape over me wanting to go to Jordan's t-ball game today," he complained while he focused on his patient. "There's no freaking rule that I can't watch my godson's t-ball game."

"Well, you wouldn't have been able to anyway. You're here performing surgery," she pointed out and softly chuckled. "Besides, she called me last night and told me everything. You said she'll probably turn Jordan into a _wimpy ballerina_?"

Arizona stood beside Alex and smiled behind her surgical mask. "I knew it couldn't all be April," she chirped, avoiding the scowl from her favorite student.

"Dude, I was trying to be supportive and she goes off on me," he bickered, shaking his head. "I know I'm not Jordan's dad, but c'mon. The kid just lost his. I'm trying to be a good friend. Then, she had the freaking nerve to call me a lonely man because I'm not married with little ankle biters. I'm not lonely, alright? I'm just… single."

But the truth was, he really was lonely. He hadn't dated or slept with a woman in two months, which for him was too long by his standards. He stopped his horndog ways after he bought Meredith's house – for a while. Eventually, he began sleeping around again after his attempt at a relationship with Jo failed. Maybe he had been living in Seattle too long because there wasn't a woman he met that appealed to him enough to be his so called person. Only Izzie ever gave him that feeling and now she was married to Bert… or Brent. He still couldn't care less about his real name.

"You'll find somebody, Karev," Arizona assured him. "Everybody's meant for somebody in my opinion."

"Hopefully, she won't get cancer or end up being a psychotic chick," he muttered. "The ones who you think are good are actually the ones who end up leaving you. Believe me."

"How's April?" the Head of Pediatrics asked. "Is she alright?"

"She's getting better. She could live without the insults, though," Alice answered, making eye contact with Alex.

"I was being honest," he muttered. "You grew up with sisters. April's got three boys. What does she know about sports or dude puberty?"

"Just because we didn't grow up with brothers and she was a virgin for 30 years it doesn't mean she's clueless about the opposite sex or sports. Jackson kindly educated her over the years and I'm a sports nut myself," Alice smirked at Alex behind her mask. "I thought you would've known that since he was your best friend and you spent a lot of time at their house. And you invited her to go camping?"

"So what? She needs a break from this crap."

Alice chuckled to herself. "Hopefully, she won't drive you nuts. Lord knows she'll be babying Jordan during the whole trip even if she says she won't," she suggested. "But you can only blame yourself if you have a bad time."

Maybe she was right, he thought. He didn't have to invite April to go camping. She even insisted that she shouldn't go, but somehow he convinced her to. The probability of her annoying him was high. However, he truly believed she deserved a break. Her husband just died. Staying cooped up in her home wouldn't do any good. Too many things reminded her of Jackson. No, he wasn't going to regret inviting her. She really deserved the break.

* * *

Alex's liver transplant surgery was a success, though he and Arizona needed to monitor their patient's progress for the next few days. He left work early to visit April and the kids. Jordan's t-ball game should have been over by then and surprisingly, nobody was home when he arrived at the house. He impatiently waited on the porch swing, occasionally checking his watch. Where the hell were they?

An hour later, the black Acura MDX pulled into the driveway. April and Karen got out of the SUV to get the children from the backseat. Jordan hopped out of the car in his dirty green and yellow baseball uniform. He immediately saw Alex waiting outside and ran towards him.

"Uncle Alex, Uncle Alex!" he screeched and stood in front of his godfather. "I hit the ball three times today! And I ran all the way to the home plate. Mommy said I was the best!"

"I bet you were. Nice job, kiddo," the peds surgeon congratulated him with a smile. He held up his hand and Jordan slapped his palm for a high five. He pretended to wince in pain and shook his hand. "Wow, you're getting stronger. That one stung."

Jordan giggled. "I think if you come next time, I'll hit a homerun."

Alex placed his hand on top of Jordan's shoulder. "I'll definitely be there at your next game, alright?"

"You promise?"

"Pinky swear promise," he insisted, holding up his pinky. The two of them hooked their pinkies together, then he rubbed the top of his godson's baseball cap. "Sorry I missed your game today. I really wanted to come, but I had to fix another kid's ouchies."

"Is the kid's ouchie okay now?"

Alex nodded confidently. "Yup, he's going to be just fine."

April approached the porch with Cameron hoisted against her hip. "Alex," she greeted him, though it wasn't the warmest welcome ever. She was clearly still upset at him for the night before. "What are you doing here?"

He sat up on the porch swing, forcing a smile. "Well, my surgery went well and uhh, I wanted to see how Jordan's game went. I thought you'd be home by the time I got here."

"We decided to get some lunch after the game," she answered, then she set Cameron down on the floor. Karen was standing behind her carrying Logan in her arms. "Umm… boys, why don't you follow Grandma into the house? Jordan, you need to take a bath, so go straight upstairs please."

After opening the front door for her mother, Karen entered the house with the boys. Alex leaned back against the porch swing, resting his arms across the top of the bench. He waited for April to sit down beside him.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said yesterday," he murmured. "But you were out of line too."

"I only said it to get back at you," she insisted. "You insulted me first, but I shouldn't have said it. Whatever you do with your life is your business. If you want to be single for the rest of your life, that's your choice."

"Please, like I seriously want to grow old alone," he scoffed.

April raised her eyebrow at Alex. "Is there a nurse at the hospital you _haven't_ slept with yet?" she teased. He rolled his eyes in response, then she sighed. "Who am I kidding? Nobody's gonna want to date a single mother with three young boys – not that I'm ready to date again. Probably won't even think about that for at least a year."

"I find it hard to believe a dude wouldn't want to be your kids' dad. They're all great." He shifted in his seat when she stared at him curiously. "I mean, c'mon. You think Jordan would scare guys off?"

"It's not the kids themselves I'm worried about. It's the responsibility of taking care of them too," she replied with a frown. "Besides, who knows how they'd react to a new man? They won't become attached to him instantly. Logan barely even got to know Jackson. I don't want him growing up and forgetting about his biological father after becoming close with his new one."

"That's why you gotta keep talking about Jackson as he gets older. Show him pictures or whatever," he reminded her.

"Cam still asks where his daddy is and it kills me when Jordan tells him he went up to heaven," she tearfully said. "But he doesn't get it, so he continues to ask me where Jackson is. It took me forever to find somebody to love me. I'm not going to meet somebody like him again."

Alex couldn't help but frown when April broke down beside him. He rested his hand against her back and gently rubbed it. She and Jackson were in a happy, drama free marriage. They never reached their 5-year anniversary because of a dumbass drunk driver. He felt terrible for her. He knew what it was like to love someone so much and then suddenly lose that person in an instant. Only, Izzie was revived after she died. Jackson wasn't so lucky.

He pulled her closer to him, allowing her to cry on his shoulder. "Hey, you'll meet someone who thinks you're worth a damn," he assured her, comfortably running his hand up and down her shoulder. "I don't think you give yourself enough credit. You're a good surgeon and an awesome mom. You can be quirky, but guys would be stupid to pass you up."

She softly laughed. "You wouldn't have said this to me five years ago."

"People change," he added with a smile. "And uhh, we're friends. I have your back."

* * *

**Let me know what you think please :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again for the reviews! Well, this one is a happier chapter compared to the first two, so...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Let's go, Jordan!" April cheered from the bleachers as her son galloped towards home plate with his baseball bat. She clapped enthusiastically for him and even stood up during his third try at the plate.

Alex watched her cheer with a smirk on his face. It was just freaking t-ball and she acted as if they were at the Little League World Series. If this was how she behaved now, he fully expected her to be that soccer mom who brings a megaphone and chides the officials whenever somebody touched her kid. Then again, why shouldn't she encourage Jordan? He was called out at first base in his last two tries. He knew the 5-year old wanted to hit a homerun with Uncle Alex attending his game – even though a chance of a homerun was slim to none. At least she wasn't the parent sitting nearby who buried his face into a book, while his child was having fun.

Also, why were the helmets so gigantic? They were twice the size of the children's heads. Jordan looked like he was preparing to be shipped off to the moon. It was too big for him and he constantly needed to tilt his helmet up, so he could see where he was going.

Beside Alex were Karen, Cameron and Logan. The youngest Avery boy was passed out in his grandmother's arms, while the other quietly sat in his seat playing an iPad game with a bunch of quacking ducks. He couldn't care less about t-ball.

The last two times Jordan was at bat, he turned around and grinned at Alex as if he was telling him that this trip would be _the_ homerun hit. Unfortunately, it hadn't worked yet. Perhaps he needed to be more supportive. It ended up taking two weeks to finally catch one of his games. He sucked at promises, but fortunately, his godson didn't hold it against him. Jordan was thrilled when Alex picked them up for his game.

"Yeah, Jordan!" Alex jumped up from his seat and applauded. "Homerun, buddy! You can do it."

April turned her head to look at Alex, slightly surprised at his enthusiasm, which was lacking in the first two innings. She quickly smiled before she turned her attention back to Jordan, who did his ritual of grinning back at them.

First swing, he whiffed. It was the stupid helmet's fault. Second swing, he hit the baseball and murdered the tee. Jordan sprinted towards first base as hard as he could. Two kids began fighting over who gets to throw the baseball, so his coach urged him to keep running.

Second base. Third base.

Alex suddenly grew excited at the possibility that Jordan could make it all the way home thanks to some clueless boys. "You're almost home, dude! Keep running!"

April raised her arms over her head when her first born reached home plate. "Good job, sweetie!" she shouted, then she clapped her hands as she smiled brightly. "You got your homerun!"

More like "homerun", but still fun to witness nonetheless.

"Way to go, Jordan!" the peds surgeon cheered.

He grinned at April, who happily jumped up and down. It was the first time in a while that he had seen her smile without faking it. She was genuinely happy. Seeing her like this was actually making him feel the same way. It had been a hellish month for the both of them.

"Did you see?! I hit a homerun!" Jordan exclaimed as he ran towards the fence separating the bleachers and the small baseball field. "I did it, Mommy!"

She held out her hand and he jumped up to give her a high five. "I saw, baby. You were awesome," she congratulated her son.

"I told you I'd hit a homerun if Uncle Alex came," he proudly stated. "Since I hit a homerun I get ice cream, right?"

"I never said that," she replied, raising her eyebrow at Alex.

He quickly shrugged as he stuffed his hands inside of his pockets. "What? The kid needed some sort of motivation besides me being here," he said defensively. "And a reward every now and then won't hurt, April. He earned it."

"Oh, fine. We'll stop by Molly Moon's after your game, but it's not over yet, so go join your teammates again." April sat down after Jordan ran back to his team's dugout. She shook her head and laughed to herself when Alex rejoined her on the bleachers. "Why do I have this feeling this isn't the first time you bribed him with ice cream?"

"No idea what you're talking about," he replied, leaning back and propping himself up with his elbows. As much as he tried to avoid her gaze, she refused to look away until he told her the truth. "Jackson started it."

April wasn't exactly surprised by his admission. There were days when Jordan was full halfway through dinner, but she couldn't pinpoint why and her son loved to eat like his daddy. Sometimes they would arrive home later than usual. It made more sense now. They went on ice cream runs before dinner.

When it came to parenting they had very different ideas on how to handle their children. April was the strict one, while Jackson tended to be more laid back about everything. If one kid got an ouchie, she nursed him like he had been through a rough surgery. The plastic surgeon would deal with the ouchie, give him a hug and let him run free like it was nothing. Jackson only felt the need to discipline his boys, especially Jordan, if it was absolutely necessary. April nitpicked everything. Yet somehow, they always found a way to cooperate with each other.

She knew Alex favored Jackson's attitude on parenting over hers. If he couldn't tolerate her rules as Chief Resident, how was it possible as a parent? She was certain he typically offered his patients a bribe of some sort whenever they refused to cooperate with him. How else did he get them to listen to him?

"Doesn't mean you have to continue what he started," she argued.

"Will you relax? It's actually freakin' hot today," he countered, squinting his eyes as he glanced up at the sun. "Ice cream is necessary. I'll pay, so you'll stop nagging me or whatever."

"I just want my kids to understand that not everything they do will lead to a reward. I want them to grow up humble."

Alex rolled his eyes. "You're a good mother, but sometimes you just gotta live a little. Stop playing it safe all the time."

"I'm going camping with you guys next weekend, aren't I? I don't considering that playing it safe," she answered with a smirk. "Lexie and Izzie seem to think I'm crazy for agreeing to go."

He snickered. "Well, Lexie and Izzie have had their share of crazy, so it's a no-brainer why you're best friends with them."

She lightly slapped his chest with the back of her hand. "You're such an ass. Lexie had a mental breakdown because of the shooting and _you_ ditched her. Izzie had cancer, which makes you sound like an even bigger douche," she retorted. "So, what makes me crazy? The fact that I almost lost my virginity to you?"

Boom! Roasted. He chuckled and pointed at her. "I'll admit, you got me there."

"See? I can make smart ass comments too."

"Not the first time you've done it, but this one was good. I'll leave the crazy talk alone now," he surrendered. Alex checked his watch and yawned. "How much longer is this game gonna last? It's been an hour and a half. I can't believe this third and final inning is taking forever."

"Three more kids are left at bat, then you can have your ice cream," she quipped before she playfully patted the top of his head. "And if you're a really good boy, you can have sprinkles on it as well."

"And with a freakin' cherry on top, please," he scoffed, which made her laugh. "I think I aged five years since this game started."

* * *

It was a Sunday and that meant April was meeting with Izzie and Lexie for their weekly trio rendezvous. The location of choice was Starbucks, which she was thankful for. Even with Karen helping her, taking care of three little boys without Jackson was exhausting. She had been up since six in the morning.

Logan was an early riser and he always let her know he was awake by crying loudly enough for her to hear through the baby monitor. Once he woke up, sleep wasn't an option anymore. He loved being carried and he would cry the moment he was set down. Jordan and Cameron were easy babies, while Logan was a little more difficult. He craved the attention and grew fussy when he didn't have it. April tried her best to give the same amount of attention to her three sons, so jealousy wouldn't be an issue like growing up with Libby and Kimmie. Without Jackson, it was much harder to devote her time equally when one boy needed more attention than the others.

After the threesome ordered their beverages, they found a table in the corner. April sipped her vanilla latte and sighed. Time felt like it was moving slower than usual. It showed on her face too.

"Everything alright, April?" Lexie asked before she drank her orange mango smoothie.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just tired," she insisted, covering her mouth when she yawned. "What else is new?"

"April, if we knew you were this tired, we could've just driven to your house instead to save you the time," Izzie suggested.

April shook her head. "No, home would've been distracting for me. Logan's been moody since he woke up from his nap and Jordan's on a sugar high after Alex promised him we'd go for ice cream after his t-ball game behind my back," she answered, sounding a little agitated. "He was so hyper, running all over the place. I had to put him in timeout after he tried to wrestle with Cam, so he's pissed at me now. I'm mean mommy until tomorrow."

"Oh, don't worry about it," the oncologist chuckled. "All kids need to learn that some actions have not so nice consequences. Anyway, you and Alex didn't try to kill each other at Jordan's game?"

"We had our usual spats. Nothing out of the ordinary, but it was so cute how Jordan thought Alex was his good luck charm. He sort of hit a homerun and he really believes it's because Alex was there," she gushed. "Thank God he showed up today. He missed the last two games and I was tired of making up excuses to tell Jordan."

"Alex has been stepping up a lot since Jackson-" Lexie paused because she knew saying the word dead or any other synonym still bothered April. "He's been around a lot, huh?"

The trauma surgeon nodded. "I don't mind. He's always been great with the boys. It's not like before when he teased me about everything I did years ago," she answered, then she quickly shrugged. "We're friends. He was Jackson's best friend. You think it's awkward?"

Lexie dismissively waved her hand. "Oh, no. Not at all. It's nice to see him being so supportive considering he's such an ass at work," she added and looked at Izzie. "He's been stealing Alice from my service for the past few weeks, so he's not stuck with the dud interns. I want her back on my service before I'm on maternity leave, which is actually next week."

Izzie playfully rolled her eyes. "At least you get to work with Alice. She's only been on my service a few times," she complained. "Why doesn't anybody care about Oncology? Nobody wants to defeat cancer?"

April softly laughed. "Iz, I'm sure everybody wants to defeat cancer. It's just Alice is all about neurosurgery, but Alex is stealing her to complain about me – well, that's what she's been telling me." She sipped her latte again. "Hey, has Hunt announced when he'll name his Head of Trauma? I want to be back at work with some time to spare before he does."

"July 10th," Lexie answered. "He hasn't formally announced it, but I overheard him and Banks talking about it."

"Fantastic," she muttered with a frown on her face.

Ever since Kevin arrived at Seattle Grace Mercy West almost six years ago, she was convinced her former rival turned friend was the Chief's favorite. It wasn't that Owen disliked her. She simply felt that her coworker had first dibs on trauma cases unless they were both needed for a major trauma.

Becoming the Head of Trauma was important to her for a variety of reasons. Resume boost, full control of the ER and the department and a pay raise. As the lone bread winner for her family now, the higher salary was crucial. Her current situation was good, but she wanted to be great. She desperately wanted the promotion.

"I don't think you need to worry, April," Lexie assured her. "Plus, you're way more organized than Banks. Without you, the pit would be a hot mess. Chaotic. You keep that place from turning into a zoo."

"She's right. Head of Trauma is yours," Izzie agreed, nodding her head as she sipped her coffee. "Just stay confident."

"It's hard to stay confident when I have a month to jump back into work and prove to Hunt that I'm the right person for the job," April replied worriedly. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath with her palms pressed against the table. "After this camping trip, I'm going back to work. I have to."

"So, you're seriously going camping with the guys?" Izzie asked, smirking at her friend. "Good luck. Three days in the woods with Alex? Hopefully, you'll have your own tent to sleep in when he gets on your nerves."

April held up her hand. "I've camped before. Although I haven't gone camping since I was in high school, I can handle this. Besides, Alex is right about going away for a few days to clear my head. I'm doing this for me… and Jordan." She sheepishly grinned. "I don't entirely trust those two to take care of Jordan without any problems."

* * *

Three days in the woods with two men, who both occasionally had the maturity level of a 16-year old, and a 5-year old was going to make for a very interesting weekend, April thought. Holding Jordan's hand as they walked through a dirt trail to their campsite, she used the time to admire the scenery. The tall pines towered over them and the weather was supposed to cooperate with them for the weekend.

A couple of feet ahead of them were Alex and Kevin, who were having a conversation about some mishap that happened at the hospital. April informed Owen about her return to work following the camping trip. Despite hearing gossip from other people, she hated being out of the loop with whatever had been going on at Seattle Grace Mercy West.

She peered down at Jordan, who had a skip in his stride while he hummed a song to himself and tightly gripped his orange fishing pole with the other hand. To ensure her baby boy would stay fairly clean during the weekend, she bought a jumbo sized bottle of hand sanitizer and a large package of wet wipes. The idea of her kid not taking a bath for three days disgusted her. Jordan was going to get the wet wipe treatment whether he liked it or not.

"Mommy, my legs hurt," he finally whined. They had been walking for at least ten minutes. "Can you carry me?"

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm already carrying some heavy equipment on my back," she apologetically replied. "We're almost there, I promise. Anyway, this is good exercise for you."

"But they really hurt," he answered with a pout on his face.

April sighed. "Jordan, remember our little talk before we left the house? Camping is supposed to fun without any complaining or whining," she reminded him. "No more pouting, okay?"

He slowly nodded and stopped pouting. "Okay," he murmured, then he grinned. "Uncle Alex, can you carry me please?"

"Jordan…" she softly groaned. "You can't expect everybody to do everything for you."

"Sure, dude," Alex agreed, turning around and noticing the glare from April. He stopped in his tracks, waiting for the two Avery's to catch up with him. He picked up Jordan, quickly shrugging at her. "Uhh, I guess I didn't think it'd take this long to find our campsite. I swear, we're almost there, but he can't go fishing if he's already passed out in his tent later."

Kevin smiled at his fellow trauma attending. "And I'll keep you company until we get there," he offered as he walked alongside her. "So, are you sure you're ready to start working again?"

"Yes," she said, sounding annoyed. He wasn't the first person to ask her that question. "I'm ready. Just because I lost Jackson last month it doesn't mean I lost my passion for surgery. Besides, I can't let you easily take the Head of Trauma job away from me."

"You know, Head of Trauma will force you to miss a lot of hours with your kids," he insinuated. "And I need this promotion. Jo and I want to buy a house and start a family."

April pointed at herself. "I need it more. I'm the only parent supporting my three boys now."

"I don't mean to sound rude, but you married into a rich family," Kevin scoffed. "You don't need it _that_ bad."

"Please don't use my name as a reason why I don't deserve the promotion," she retorted, shaking her head in disgust.

April and Kevin had grown to become good friends since she helped him get over his fear of flying, but his comment reminded her of his douche bag behavior at the boards. If Jordan wasn't nearby, she most likely would have slapped him across the face. People using the Avery name against her was one of her biggest pet peeves. No wonder Jackson always felt it was difficult being an Avery in the surgical world. But she didn't marry him because of his name or his wealthy family, yet some people still didn't quite get the memo.

"Fine. I'm sorry," he quickly apologized. "We both deserve the job, alright? Unfortunately, Hunt's only picking one of us."

"Yeah, unfortunately," she mumbled. She decided to change the subject to avoid becoming discouraged at the possibility of her losing the Head of Trauma job to Kevin. "So, one more month and you're a married man. Nervous?"

Kevin softly chuckled. "A little bit," he admitted. "I asked Alex to be my best man, but I have a feeling he's not that thrilled about it. I mean, with his history with Jo and all, it's awkward, huh?"

"Why did you ask him if you knew it'd be awkward?"

"Well, if I had a brother, my best man wouldn't be hard to figure out," he answered. "I didn't have any real close guy friends until I came to Seattle. Jackson… he was there with me when I was picking out a ring for Jo. I thought I owed it to him since I was in your wedding."

April frowned. Perhaps bringing up Kevin and Jo's upcoming wedding was a horrible idea. She hadn't thought about it until now, but attending a wedding two months after losing her husband didn't sound enjoyable anymore. It was depressing as hell.

She remained mum during the rest of their walk to the campsite. It was an open space surrounded by trees and a short walk from the nearby lake. The first task at hand was setting up the tents. Alex and Kevin brought their own tents, while April and Jordan would be sharing one together. She impressed the two men by setting up her tent without their help and finishing it faster than they did. She always took pride in following directions correctly.

As soon as everything at their campsite was set up, Alex and Kevin decided to take Jordan to the lake for his first fishing experience. Ever since the wedding conversation, April's mood took a huge dip and she didn't mind being alone for an hour or two. Unbeknownst to the others, she brought along a few photos of Jackson to stare at when nobody was around. She lay on her side on top of her sleeping bag, sadly smiling at the pictures of her late husband.

She was never going to stop missing everything about him.

The sounds of footsteps approaching her tent forced her to hide the photos underneath her pillow. Alex flipped open the tent, peeking his head inside. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us? I thought uhh, maybe you'd want to take pictures of Jordan fishing or whatever."

"I'm sure," she glumly replied and held up her camera. "Could you do it for me, please?"

He furrowed his eyebrows as he crawled into the tent. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little tired," she lied, sitting up on her sleeping bag. "You three go ahead. I think I'll take a nap, while you're at the lake."

"Okay, then." Alex took April's camera before he crawled out of the tent. "We won't be long, but uhh… if a bear shows up-"

"Don't even joke about that," she cut him off, managing to laugh. "I really don't want to deal with any bears or other wild animals at the moment. A squirrel maybe, but no bears."

"You'll be safe. Have a nice nap."

She lay back down on her sleeping bag after he left. Truthfully, she wasn't tired, but she closed her eyes to attempt to relax. It was peaceful outside. It was soothing and it allowed her to visualize Jackson in her mind. His charming smile, those bluish-green eyes she missed staring into, his muscular figure – it was almost as if he was literally standing in front of her.

But when she opened her eyes all she saw was the top of the blue tent she lay in. So she did the next best thing, pulling out the photos she hid of him and stared at them again. It was all she could really do to help pass the time faster until the boys returned from fishing. She didn't have a problem with it at all.

* * *

Fishing was a success. Jordan caught his first ever fish after waiting a half an hour for something to bite. Alex helped reel it in as the little dude in front of him bounced excitedly. And he caught a big one. He could barely hold the fish himself, so Alex helped him out when Kevin took his picture with April's camera. The two men weren't as successful, but they were proud of Jordan.

And so was April. Her spirits were lifted again when they returned with Jordan's first catch. She couldn't feel unhappy when her son was feeling the opposite. Forgetting about her earlier troubles, she decided to enjoy the moment even though she felt bad about missing it. The picture she saw of Alex and her baby boy made her regret missing it even more.

They had dinner – with April doing all of the cooking, of course – and Jordan had an early bed time for the night. Kevin promised to take him fishing again at dawn when it was more peaceful and quiet. Plus, it gave him and Alex the opportunity to indulge in a few packs of beer. They agreed not to drink in front of Jordan in the case he would most likely want to try it too, which would have led to a never ending lecture from April.

She climbed out of her tent after ensuring herself that her son was asleep. The two men were sitting on folding chairs beside the campfire and unwinding with their beers. Slowly approaching them, she stretched her arms over her head and yawned.

"So, you really didn't have any trouble with Jordan earlier?" she asked, still skeptical that there weren't any reports of the 5-year old almost falling into the water. Unless, they were lying to her.

"No, he behaved," Alex insisted and smirked. "You really should trust us more with your kid."

"I do, but he's… Jordan. He can be a handful sometimes."

Kevin dismissively waved his hand. "We didn't have any problems with him, I promise." He picked up a new can of beer. "You want one? It's still nice and cold."

April slightly smiled, taking the can from him. "Thanks."

"Hold on wait. Don't open it yet," he ordered. "Uhh, when Jackson was around we started a tradition of who could shotgun a beer the fastest without spilling. So… if you're up for it-"

"She doesn't have to do it," Alex interrupted him, then he chuckled. "She probably has no idea what you're talking about anyway."

April stared at them appalled. "You're making it sound like I grew up secluded from society. I know how to shotgun a beer," she claimed and held out her free hand. "Give me your keys, Alex."

Alex handed her his set of keys. He watched her poke a hole close to the bottom of the can with his car key. He was already impressed enough that she managed to break through without a drop of beer spraying out. "So far, you haven't failed."

Tossing the keys back to him, she carefully placed her lips around the hole before she held the can upright. She lifted the tab at the top and started downing the beer without any trouble.

A smile formed on his face as she amazed both him and Kevin with her shotgunning skills. Who knew she had it in her? He had seen her drunk in the past, but he considered this to be another side he hadn't seen of her. April Avery did not come off as the shotgunning type.

She finished her beer, crushing the can with her hand and hovering over Alex. Leaning close to his face, she smugly grinned at him. "Still think I have no idea what you two are talking about?" she teased, burping by his ear and laughing as she dropped the empty can in front of his feet. "I have to pee."

Kevin waited for the trauma surgeon to disappear into the woods. "Okay, that was actually quite hot."

Alex found himself speechless. Watching April shotgun a beer _was_ hot, but he refused to have those kinds of thoughts about her – the thoughts that Jackson probably had of her when he was still alive. They had been spending a lot of time together for the children. He loved the little Avery boys, but it couldn't happen. She just lost her husband. It wouldn't be right.

* * *

The following morning, Alex crawled out of his tent, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He spotted April sitting alone by a small fire. She was cooking breakfast, while Kevin and Jordan were at the lake fishing again. He wore his jacket and slipped on shoes before walking towards her in his basketball shorts.

"Good morning," she chirped. "Hungry?"

"Yeah, I am." The smell of newly cooked eggs and bacon woke him up even more. She prepared a plate for him, then she passed it on to him. "Thanks. Banks and Jordan still fishing?"

"Mmhmm," she answered. "They'll be back any minute now."

Alex simply nodded. He quietly ate his food before his eyes slowly peered up at April. "Since uhh, it's just the two of us right now, wanna tell me why you were bumming out yesterday?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Do you think I'm blind? You went from Dandy Sandy to Eeyore in a snap," he pointed out. "How was your depression fest in your tent yesterday?"

"You've gotta be kidding me," she groaned. "Depression fest? My husband died a month ago. I'm still trying to accept that. You could at least be a little more sensitive about that."

He closed his eyes and grimaced. The previous night, he decided he wasn't going to think of her as more than a friend. The best way to do that was to treat her the way he used to by acting like an ass, though his choice of words were poor.

"Sorry. I didn't mean that," he muttered. Alex opened his eyes and turned his attention back to his breakfast. "Well, could you tell me the truth? I don't think you were just upset about Jackson not being here. Did Banks say something to you?"

"He thinks he should get the Head of Trauma job over me because I married into a rich family. I hate it when people use the Avery name against me. It's not fair. Marrying Jackson didn't automatically make me rich," she answered with a frown on her face. "Be honest with me. Do you think if I get the job, I deserve it or Hunt's giving it to me out of pity?"

"You're good at what you do. You deserve the job, April," he truthfully said. "You're more organized and people actually listen to you now. Hunt would be a dumbass if he chose Banks over you. I mean, I don't have anything against him, but you're a more reliable candidate."

April slowly nodded. "Okay," she murmured. "It must suck being his replacement best man, huh?"

Alex scrunched his nose. One of the topics he didn't want to talk about was Kevin and Jo's wedding. Everything about their upcoming nuptials made him bitter inside. "Sure. Whatever."

Jo Wilson was the closest Alex had to being in a fully committed relationship again. First, they became close friends, having bonded over their foster home past. For a while, they had a sibling type of relationship. Making fun of each other, bickering over the smallest things. Then, somewhere down the line it became more. It turned into romance, but commitment always held him back. She was ready and willing to take the next step and he wasn't. Tired of not being on the same page, she broke up with him. And just when he thought it couldn't get worse she developed an intimate relationship with Kevin. Their friendship took a hit – literally. Alex broke his jaw when he found out. Slowly, but surely, they became friends again, though there was always some awkwardness between them.

For a long time, he felt like he wasted an opportunity to be happy. His grumpy attitude at work rubbed his coworkers the wrong way. He lashed out at interns and residents, especially Jo. And Izzie returning made him even more bitter because she was married to another man and had a child with him. It wasn't until April teased him and called him the second coming of Robert Stark, due to his no fun attitude towards everybody, that he changed his behavior. No freaking way was he like that creep.

Eventually, he decided to move on, but it was harder than he thought because sleeping around like the old days wasn't working for him anymore. He wanted to settle down. With a wife. Maybe a kid or two.

He just wanted to be happy again.

"I'm not really looking forward to being there either," she softly said. "It just makes me think about my wedding. Normally, I love attending weddings, but not this year. I can't back out, though, with Jordan being the ring bearer."

"We can be miserable together," he suggested, half-smiling at her. "Maybe take advantage of the open bar, get stupid drunk or whatever. It'd be fun, I guess. Catherine will be there, so she could keep an eye on Jordan for you. And your mom's staying at home with Cam and Logan. You wouldn't have to worry about being a mom for a few hours."

"I wouldn't mind that, to be honest." April quickly shrugged. "At least I can forget I'm at a wedding without my dead husband for a while. Next month will be busy. Hopefully, I'll get the promotion. Then, there's Logan's first birthday party and the wedding. I feel like the month will go either really good or really bad."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Quit worrying about that crap right now and just enjoy the weekend. Do it for Jordan."

"Fine, you're right. I'll try better today." She stood up from her chair. "I'm gonna go change out of these clothes. I didn't want to wake up Jordan last night, so I slept in these. I feel so filthy it's not even funny."

As she walked to her tent, he couldn't help but watch her. He immediately slapped his forehead and turned away. All he remembered hearing her say was the part about changing out of her clothes. That meant she would be naked in her tent. Now he felt like a pervert. He desperately wanted to stop having sexual thoughts about April. But he was a guy. He always thought about naked women, except she was different. He was positive Jackson would climb out from his grave and kick his ass if he knew.

"I can't help it. She's kind of hot," he muttered to himself as if he was talking to Jackson. The peds surgeon groaned and dropped his head in disappointment. "Crap."

* * *

**As always, let me know what you think please! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the reviews! Well, I certainly needed a small break from Japril since the last episode was a little meh, so hopefully you'll settle with some AK2 ;)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It felt good to be back at work. April missed being at the hospital and she was ready to prove to Owen she deserved the Head of Trauma job. Her first couple of days were rusty, but she managed to return to her usual routines without much trouble. Occasionally, she received stares from nurses and doctors who still felt sympathetic towards her. She overheard one nurse question her ability to take care of three young sons by herself. As much as she wanted to strangle her for doubting her parenting skills, she kept her cool and moved on. She knew she was a good mother and her coworkers agreed. She refused to let a clueless nurse tell her she couldn't handle being a single parent. Besides, Karen was still living with her, so she wasn't completely alone.

Since the camping trip, she and Alex had been hanging out more often, typically with the kids around. In fact, his mood had changed for the better, though nobody could figure out why. He wasn't going to tell anybody how he actually felt about her. He knew people would spread the gossip faster than the common cold. She wasn't ready to date. And he didn't want to look like the ass who got rejected.

At the same time, he was confused. He thought maybe his feelings were out of pity. April was the poor widow who just lost her husband. He figured he wouldn't have these types of feelings if Jackson hadn't died.

The day Owen was choosing his new Head of Trauma arrived. April had been nervous since she woke up that morning. She thought she had done enough to impress her mentor and be rewarded with the promotion. He did point out to her that the ER was less hectic and more organized when she returned to work. That had to mean something.

She stood by the nurses' station in the ER, tapping her pen against a chart and waiting for a page from the Chief. Kevin hadn't gloated about landing the job, but then again, maybe he hadn't met with Owen yet. One of them would be first and one of them would be leaving his office on a good or sour note.

"Hey, Hunt talk to you yet?" she heard Alex's voice ask her from behind.

April turned around to face him and shook her head. "No. Still waiting on a page." She scanned the area for Kevin, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Maybe Banks is with him. Maybe he _is_ getting the job after all. I don't see him in here."

"He's operating right now. I passed by the OR board on my way down here." He smirked at her. "I thought you would've known that. You normally have the OR schedules memorized, even for the surgeries you're not involved in."

"Obviously, I'm thinking about this promotion more than anything else at the moment," she muttered, then she placed her elbow on top of her chart and covered her face with her hand. "What if I don't get it? It's going to feel like I've been fired for a third time. I can't handle that."

Alex gently rubbed her shoulder. "You'll get it. You're too good not to become Head of Trauma," he comforted her and smiled. "And if you don't, I'll kick Hunt's ass, alright?"

April softly laughed, then she sighed. "I wish Jackson was here. This is one of those times when I need him."

He slightly frowned. Here he was, trying to keep her calm and assure her that everything would be fine, but she would rather have her husband with her. It stung a bit. However, he couldn't blame her. She was still very much in love with Jackson. Her feelings weren't going to fade away any time soon.

Thankfully, her pager interrupted the awkward tension building up. "It's Hunt." She took a deep breath before she closed her chart and handed it to a nurse. "Wish me luck?"

"Good luck," he half-heartedly said as she walked away from him.

April rode the elevator a few floors up. She had been breathing in and out as if she were in labor and preparing to give birth. Walking across the catwalk to Owen's office, she could see him sitting behind his desk through the window. She stood in front of the door, taking another deep breath before she lightly knocked.

"Come in," he called out. Owen smiled when she entered his office. "Dr. Avery, have a seat, please."

She sat down across from him, putting on her brightest smile. Good news, here we come.

"First off, I want to congratulate you on how far you've come since you arrived at this hospital," he started, folding his hands on top of his desk. "You persevered through hard times over the years and you've grown into a fine trauma surgeon. I know these past two months have been difficult, but you fought through them and bounced back quicker than any of us expected. I'm very proud of you, April."

"Thank you, Dr. Hunt," she chirped. "And I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you for giving me another chance a few years ago. I promised I wouldn't let you down again and hopefully, I succeeded in that."

"You did. You exceeded my expectations, actually," he acknowledged. "And it's unfortunate I have to tell you this, but I've decided to give the Head of Trauma job to Dr. Banks. I will let him know when he's out of surgery."

April's smile immediately faded away. "What?" It didn't take long for the tears to form in her eyes. "Wait… _what?_"

"Listen for a minute-"

"It's because I'm a single mother, isn't it?" she snapped, jumping up from her chair and slapping her hands against the desk. "You don't think I can manage the department with three little boys at home! This isn't fair! You can't build up my hopes with all of these compliments and you can't deny me this job because Jackson died two months ago!"

Owen raised his hands and sighed. "April, please sit down. Let me finish what I have to say."

She returned to her seat, angrily wiping away her tears with the sleeve of her lab coat. Her face was beet red. She literally wanted to rip the Chief's head off for deciding to appoint Kevin as the new Head of Trauma. She always knew he was his favorite.

"There's a reason why I chose not to give you the job. It has nothing to do with Jackson or your inability to manage our department. In fact, I wanted to offer you the position," he insisted. "But I received a phone call yesterday – from Stanford. They are looking for a new director for their Trauma department and they want you."

"St-Stanford?" she stammered. April cleared her throat as she furrowed her eyebrows. "Why me?"

"Well, you're certainly qualified for the job and you were highly recommended by Samantha Avery," he answered and smiled at her. "I decided not to give you the same position here because I _want_ you to take advantage of this opportunity. I also had a brief discussion with Catherine about this yesterday and she agrees with me. You passed up the option to work at Stanford before. This time, you really may not have another chance like this again."

Owen was right. Before she retook her boards, she impressed Stanford with her handy checklists and they offered her a fellowship. But she passed it up because she wasn't ready to leave Seattle. Jackson was also in his first year as a fellow and Jordan was just a baby. They weren't married yet and they were still trying to settle down as a family. And she had to pass her boards to even have a shot at the offer. A move from Seattle to Palo Alto wasn't quite an ideal situation at the time anyway.

Perhaps this was the big break she needed and deserved. Moving to a new city and hospital would be a fresh start for her. She would have family in the area with Samantha. Although arrogant and sometimes intimidating, it meant a lot to April that her sister-in-law wanted her to join her at Stanford. In her only visit to the campus five years ago, she loved it. The doctors there appreciated her company and she felt like she could fit in with them. This was her chance to truly make a name for herself.

"So, uhh… would I have to fly there for an interview or call them?" she asked curiously.

"Actually, the job is yours if you choose to accept it," he informed her. "Samantha apparently spoke very highly of you and considering her father-in-law is the Chief of Surgery, it wasn't very hard to convince him to offer you the position. But if you don't take the job, they'll search for other candidates then."

April gazed down at her hands. "When… when do I have to make a decision?"

"They would like to hear from you as soon as possible, but take all of the time you need. You would tentatively begin working over there by mid-August. You'll be taken care of. They're willing to provide you with a house close to the hospital," Owen added. He laughed when she looked up at him with wide eyes. "I know it's a lot to take in right now and I'm very sorry for misleading you earlier. I do think you earned this job. You've taken good care of the ER since you've been here. Now it's time to do the same thing at Stanford."

"I need a day to let this sink in, but I can't pass them up again," she answered with a smile on her face. "I really don't know what to say. I mean, _wow_. I never thought Stanford would be knocking at my door after I turned them down a few years ago."

"Don't be surprised if Samantha calls you soon. She'll most likely be talking your head off until you tell her you're taking the job." He stood up from his seat and she did the same. "Well, that's all I had to say to you. You could stay quiet about Stanford until you officially make your decision or whatever you want to do. Let me be the first to tell you that I'll miss having you around here."

April walked around the desk and hugged Owen. "Thank you, Dr. Hunt," she cheerfully said. "I'll miss this place too."

* * *

"What a freaking joke," Alex grumbled as he slapped his tray onto the table in the cafeteria, startling Meredith and Cristina Yang in the process. He had heard Jo bragging to Stephanie Edwards and Heather Brooks about Kevin landing the Head of Trauma job and was livid. He tried paging April to talk, but she wasn't answering. He figured she was hiding in a supply closet and having a mental breakdown. "Banks over Kep- Avery? Seriously? Yang, your husband's an idiot."

Cristina rolled her eyes. "Owen had his reasons, but he wouldn't tell me. I may have to sleep with him later to get it out of him," she quipped. "I'm sure it was a very hard decision. He lost sleep over it for Christ's sake."

"It's not right. She deserved it a hell of a lot more than Banks," he argued before he dove into his spaghetti. "Fucking bullshit, I tell ya."

Meredith stared at Alex amused. She noticed there had been a change in their friendship since Jackson passed away, though she never questioned him about it. His usually better mood also didn't go unnoticed. Then again, he was close to the plastic surgeon and his death hurt him just as much. She was in the OR with him and the other doctors when they failed to save him. Still, she started to wonder if maybe there was something the peds surgeon wasn't telling anybody.

"Have you seen her since she found out?" she asked.

"No. She didn't answer any of my pages," he replied disappointedly. "I don't know where she is."

Izzie approached their table with her lunch and sat down beside Meredith. The two Twisted Sisters didn't mind the oncologist's presence, having rebuilt their friendship, but Alex continued to loathe her. The scowl on his face let her know she wasn't entirely welcome, but it didn't matter to her.

"Hey, you're all going to be at Logan's birthday party, right?" the blonde happily asked. "April told me she has an announcement to share with everyone on Saturday. She seemed pretty excited about it."

Alex raised his eyebrow at Izzie. "You saw April?"

Izzie nodded as she chewed her food. "Right before she got called down to the ER for incoming trauma. She wouldn't give me any hints about what she wants to announce, but she was in a really good mood. Maybe Owen offered her a better promotion," she implied.

"Or he actually appointed both her and Kevin as co-Head's," Meredith suggested. "If April's not crying over this, then it must be juicy. We'll know in a few days."

"Where's Little Kepner? Maybe one of us could threaten to have her fired if she doesn't tell us," Cristina said with a mischievous grin on her face. "Now, I'm dying to know."

"Oh, c'mon, you guys. I bet April wants all of us to be surprised, so let's not spoil the fun for her," Izzie insisted.

Alex smirked at Izzie. "You bringing your husband to the party? Uhh, Brody or whatever?"

Izzie groaned. "Oh my God, it's Brad! For the thousandth time, Alex, his name is _Brad_!" She shook her head in disgust as he snickered at her. "I swear, you pretend to forget his name just to spite me. He's always been nice to you, so stop acting like such a douche about him."

"I've only met the guy like three times," he scoffed. "Let's not pretend he and I play golf together and are good drinking buddies, Iz."

"Okay, so instead of constantly annoying me by getting his name wrong, why don't you get to know him better? You could use more male buddies since you obviously can't hang out with Banks like you apparently used to and Jackson-"

"Shut the hell up about Jackson!" Alex snapped, causing bystanders nearby to stare at their table. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably and pursed his lips together. Since his awkward moment with April earlier, he slightly hated hearing Jackson's name. It made him feel like an asshole, but it hurt him that he was trying to be a good friend and she didn't seem to care.

Meredith looked at her friend concerned. "Everything alright, Alex?"

Alex quickly shook his head as he poked at his spaghetti. "Nothing. Whatever," he muttered. "And you can't force me to be friends with your freaking husband, Iz. Not gonna happen."

Izzie raised her hands in front of her chest. "Okay, okay. We'll drop it. Sheesh," she surrendered, exchanging glimpses with both Meredith and Cristina. Even she began to sense something was off about her former flame. "Anything you want to talk about?"

Alex had another scowl on his face. As if he wanted to tell Izzie, of all people, that he was developing romantic feelings for one of her closest friends. She would tell April in a heartbeat. "Yeah, like I'm going to open up to _you_," he sneered, picking up his tray and standing up. "I'm not making that mistake again."

Meredith watched him leave the cafeteria, then she faced Cristina and Izzie. "He's been acting weird lately. He's not just his douchey self these days. Just… weird and then douchey. He's hiding something."

"I don't think he's gotten laid in months. Maybe tiny Karev isn't working the way it used to," Cristina jokingly said, making the other two laugh. "But he _is_ acting strange. Mer, he'll talk to you. Go find out what's up his ass."

"I'll do it when the opportunity comes. Not today, though. He'll be too stubborn."

* * *

"Stanford?!" Alice recited as she grinned at her older sister, while they scrubbed in at a sink together. April requested her for her upcoming surgery on an emergency appendectomy and to break the news to her first. "So, you're going?"

April nodded, smiling down at her soapy hands. "It's still unofficial, but I'm going to call David's father later to tell him I'm accepting his offer. I can't wait to tell Mom later." She looked at Alice. "And they're giving me a house! You know how much money I'll be saving because of that? Palo Alto isn't a cheap place to live in."

"They must really want you if they threw in a house," she added. "I'm happy for you, Apes."

"Are you going to be okay up here? I mean, you moved to Seattle for medical school and residency because of me," she guiltily asked. "I kind of feel bad about leaving you behind."

Alice chuckled. "I'm a grown woman. I can take care of myself, but you helped me so much since I moved here, so thank you for that." She grinned again as she rinsed the soap off of her forearms and hands. "Besides, I won't be completely alone."

April raised her eyebrow at her baby sister. "Is there a new man in your life?" she asked eagerly. Alice responded with a simple nod. "So, who is it?"

"Umm… I've been sort of dating… Shane," she confessed.

"_Shane_?" The trauma surgeon almost couldn't believe it. Not because Shane Ross was a terrible guy – he was quite adorable. But Alice had always been into the bad boy, rebellious types. The fifth year resident most definitely was not a bad boy. He was the exact opposite, as a matter of fact. "Since when?"

"Since… I don't know. Two months ago?" Alice shyly admitted. "It started after Jackson died, so we were quiet about it. I guess I didn't want to upset you or anything."

"Why would that upset me?"

"You just lost Jackson."

"Oh… but you having a boyfriend doesn't upset me," April insisted. She sighed as she dried her hands with a towel. "I never thought you would go for Shane, but if he makes you happy, then I'm happy for you both."

Alice softly laughed. "To be honest, I never thought I would date him either. When I first met him at your wedding I thought he was a huge nerd. He kept rambling about how catching the bouquet and garter didn't mean much using statistics and stuff," she recalled. "But hanging around neurosurgeons a lot forced me to talk to him more, so yeah… it just happened."

April had really hoped Shane would convert into a trauma soldier like herself, but he was always keen on becoming the next Derek Shepherd. They were still friends, occasionally meeting up to catch up with each other's lives. He consistently gave her credit for shaping him into the surgeon he was today, even though he chose to specialize in neurosurgery. It was nice to know he had fallen for another Kepner. She knew he would treat her sister right.

"Well, I think you two are cute together," she cheerfully said. "Both of you should come over for dinner one day, so Mom can meet him and also before I move to California."

"I bet Dad would've loved him," Alice said, slightly frowning. "So… you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but when do you think you'll be ready to start dating again?"

The redhead slowly shrugged her shoulders. "It's too early to even think about dating other guys. I don't know. I have thought about it, but then it makes me feel like I'm cheating on Jackson," she replied. "Which sounds stupid because marriage is supposed to be 'til death do us part, right? So it wouldn't be cheating."

"Of course not, but if you're not ready, don't force yourself to date anybody," Alice advised as she dried her hands with a towel. "Focus on your boys. They're your first priority, always."

April nodded, then she led her sister into the OR. "C'mon, we have a really pissed off appendix to deal with. Actually, _you_ have a really pissed off appendix to deal with," she corrected herself.

"Huh? What?" Alice stared at April with wide eyes as she wore a new pair of gloves. She hadn't been the lucky intern chosen in the beginning of her internship to botch their first solo procedure, so this would be her first ever solo. "Really?"

"Yes. This is kind of like a present from me to you before I leave," she declared, grinning behind her surgical mask. "Don't worry. I'll be beside you in the case something goes wrong, _but_ I certainly hope that doesn't happen. I may be your sister, but I'm still your boss and if you screw this up, I'm going to kill you."

Alice gulped. "Thanks… Dr. Avery," she hesitantly said before she stood next to their patient and held out her hand. "Ten blade, please."

* * *

Logan's first birthday party was set up in the backyard of April's house. There was a swimming pool for the older children to splash around in with their parents and a small playground for those who didn't want to get wet. April hired a clown, which turned out to be a horrible idea because Cameron screamed bloody murder at the sight of it and refused to leave his mother's side, clinging tightly onto her leg. Alex ended up being in charge of the barbeque because it was the only cooking he didn't fail at. Whatever made her happy, he thought. It was the little things that counted to him.

Their coworkers continued to wonder what major announcement was in store for them. The only people who knew about her new job were Owen, Catherine, Karen and Alice. Even Izzie and Lexie weren't allowed to join the fun just yet.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Derek and Mark were teaching their sons how to swim. Zola and Sofia chased Jordan and Addison Montgomery's son, Henry, around in the backyard trying to kiss them. They fought back with water guns. Libby and Kimmie's families visited Seattle for the weekend and the following week to celebrate their nephew's birthday. Also, April wanted them to find out about her Stanford gig in person.

"Cam, the clown's gone. He went bye, bye!" April insisted, bending over to speak to her middle child. He literally felt glued to her left leg for the whole hour the clown was at the party that it was sore. She pried his fingers off of her leg and picked him up, pointing at their surroundings. "See? No more clown."

"Clown scare-wee," Cameron quietly said with a frown on his face.

April kissed his cheek. "I know, but he's not here anymore," she promised, then she started tickling his side to make him laugh. She smiled when he stopped frowning and adjusted his little glasses. "You're okay now."

Catherine approached her carrying Logan in her arms. "Why don't you make your announcement before we cut the cake, honey? I think everybody's been waiting long enough."

"You're right." April set Cameron on the grass before she walked towards the nearby picnic table and stepped onto the bench. She waved her arms to get everyone's attention. "Hey, guys! Could you all listen for a second? Umm, before we sing Happy Birthday to Logan, I'd like to tell you my big announcement."

"It's about time, Avery!" Cristina shouted from a few feet away. "C'mon, no more time wasting. Spill it."

The trauma surgeon clasped her hands together and grinned brightly. "So, I really would like to thank all of you for coming to my baby boy's first birthday. It means a lot to me. As you know, it's been a rough two months for me, but your support's helped me pulled through. With that, I want to congratulate Kevin Banks for becoming the new Head of Trauma at Seattle Grace Mercy West."

Alex stood by the grill on the deck and rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he muttered to himself.

"And I'm very excited to announce to everybody that I've accepted the same position at the Stanford University Medical Center!" She couldn't stop smiling when her coworkers applauded and cheered. Some of them were surprised, but happy for her. "I will be moving to California next month, so start preparing your farewells. Okay, now that's over with, let's sing to the Birthday Boy!"

As the guests gathered around the picnic table to sing Happy Birthday to Logan, Alex stayed behind on the deck with a disappointed look on his face. From afar, Meredith was quick to notice his reaction and watched him retreat back into the house. She wasn't entirely confident, but she thought maybe she finally connected the dots. Sneaking away from the scene, she followed him into the house. She found him in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and drinking a fresh cold beer.

"Why aren't you out there with the rest of us?" she asked curiously.

"Not in a partying mood right now." He waved his hand at Meredith. "Just go back outside. I'll be out in a minute."

"You're pissed about something, so just let it out," she demanded. Meredith walked towards Alex and stood beside him. "You can't crawl into your shell and hide from me, Alex. I'll get it out of you eventually. Does it have to do with April?"

Alex immediately turned away from his friend. "I'm not talking about this."

That was the moment she was 100% confident she figured him out. "Oh my God," she gasped, placing her hands on her hips. "Alex, no. She lost Jackson almost exactly two months ago. It's too soon. She's not going to be ready for a relationship, especially now with her moving away."

"Dude, I know that!" he replied in frustration. Alex sipped his beer and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I tried not to feel this way about her, Mer. I'm not even sure if they're true feelings. I could be freakin' pitying her for all I know. I swear to God I never felt this way about her when Jackson was alive. What the hell's wrong with me?"

Meredith sadly smiled at Alex. "Nothing's wrong with you. You and April have been spending a lot of time together since Jackson died. I guess you didn't realize just how much you actually care about her until now," she suggested.

"But I feel like a douche. I mean, swooping in after her freaking husband dies? Jackson was my best friend. It's like I'm trying to take away what was his," he guiltily said. "I'm crazy about those kids. And now, April's moving away and taking them with her. What about me?"

"I don't want to sound like an ass, but you're not their father, Alex."

"Yeah, but I'm the closest to being their father now. You don't see how excited they get when I'm around," he explained and pointed at himself. "They need me."

Meredith waved her arms and forced herself to laugh. "Okay, slow down. You're getting a little ahead of yourself. As your friend, I'm telling you – it can't happen. You and April can't happen, Alex. I'm not saying this because I don't think it would work. I'm saying this to protect you both from getting hurt. It's seriously not the right time, so it's best if she doesn't know how you feel."

Alex furrowed his eyebrows as he sipped his beer again. He knew Meredith was right. It wouldn't work out because the timing was horrible. She was moving to California in a few weeks and he would be stuck in Seattle. And she also wouldn't be ready for a relationship. If it took her 30 years to lose her virginity, it would probably take 50 years for her to be ready to date after losing her husband. By then, she would be old and gray and maybe in her death bed.

"I wish I didn't care so freaking much," he mumbled. "Izzie should've never came back either."

"What does Izzie have to do with any of this?"

"Remember when she died in my arms and then left me, Mer? She had the nerve to return to Seattle with her perfect husband and her perfect kid and act like everything's alright," he complained. "Just seeing her reminds me of how happy I was when I was married to her. I promised to take care of her and she left! Now I'm doing the same thing with April and she's leaving too! I can't win!"

Meredith sighed. "You've dealt with a ton of crap. I get it, but that doesn't mean you'll never be happy again." She smirked at him. "And she's… April. There's never a day that goes by when you two don't argue over something ridiculous. You used to hate her voice more than anything. You said it was grating."

Alex stared down at the floor. "Well, I'm gonna miss that grating voice, so shut up."

April walked into the kitchen and was caught off-guard to see Alex and Meredith. "Oh, I didn't know you were in here," she said, softly chuckling as she opened the freezer. "Just came in to get some ice cream. You two want some?"

"No," the peds surgeon replied and began walking out of the kitchen. "I gotta go. Hospital paged."

"Okay… did you want some cake-" She heard the front door slam and looked back at Meredith confused. "To go? Uhh, is everything fine?"

"He's… he's pissed because one of his residents might have screwed up one of his patient's post-op treatment," Meredith lied, then she smiled at April. "You know how angry he gets when that happens. Let me help you with the ice cream."

April shrugged off Alex's bad mood and handed an ice cream carton to her friend. "So, how much will you all be celebrating when I leave?"

Meredith chuckled. "Oh, April. You may have been a pain in the past, but it's different now. We're going to miss you," she insisted and followed her out of the kitchen. "We'll miss you a lot, some of us more than you think."

* * *

**Things are getting a little more complicated, eh?**


	5. Chapter 5

**So bouncing back and forth between writing AK2 and Japril gives me awful feels because I just want April to marry both Alex and Jackson. They could become Brother Husbands and I would be completely okay with that ;D**

**Anyway, enjoy the latest chapter!**

* * *

Since April's announcement about moving to Stanford, Alex had been distant. He avoided her at work and constantly kept himself occupied in order to distract himself from thinking about her. In the back of his mind, he wanted to be happy for her because Stanford noticed her. She was finally getting her opportunity to be the best in her specialty. But he sided more with his selfish side. He didn't want her to leave.

This caused him to become the angry attending that scared off residents again. Interns were afraid of him, except for Alice. She was used to his douchey behavior that it didn't faze her, although he was the hardest on her because she was April's sister. Still, the younger Kepner couldn't figure out why he was in a week-long mood.

It was the weekend of Kevin and Jo's wedding. Their special day was set up at The Golf Club in nearby Newcastle. The area provided beautiful scenery and the whole setting made Alex sick. It could have been _his_ wedding to Jo, but she was marrying somebody else. And he was the interim best man because the role originally went to Jackson. For the entire wedding, he had a scowl on his face. Even when he made eye contact with April, who motioned at him to smile, his facial expression never changed. He had every right to feel bitter. The only time he smiled was when Jordan walked down the aisle as the ring bearer. He was going to miss that kid more than ever.

Having to give the best man toast at the reception was unbearable for him. Putting on his fakest smile, he forced himself to deliver a hate free speech.

"I wish nothing but happiness for you two," he said, but what he really wanted to say was, "I fucking hate both of your guts. I hope you're divorced before your 1-year anniversary."

Once his duties as best man were finished, he headed straight for the bar. He didn't care how pathetic it would be, but he was ready to drown his sorrows with booze. Sitting alone with a glass of straight vodka, he loosened his tie as he sipped his drink. Out of the corner of his eye, April took a seat beside him and ordered herself a glass of whiskey. She hated the taste of it, but it was Jackson's go-to choice of alcohol when he was feeling awful. At least she made a better effort at pretending to be happy.

"That was… the biggest lie of a speech I've ever heard," she teased, playfully nudging his side with her elbow. He simply glanced at her without saying a word. "I haven't seen you around this past week."

"I've been busy," he muttered. His eyes started to wander down at her blue strapless dress, which cut off just below her knees. It showed off her shoulders and a lot of cleavage. Her hair was down and partially pulled back and her lips were covered with bright red lipstick. "You look nice."

"I uhh, put a little emphasis on the 'something blue' idea for weddings," she joked as she looked down at her dress. April drank her glass of whiskey and made a face. "I don't know how Jackson could love this stuff. It's disgusting, in my opinion."

Alex slid his glass towards hers and picked up her drink. "We can switch. That one's vodka."

April nodded as she accepted the beverage. She slapped her hand against the counter to get the bartender's attention. "C'mon, keep 'em coming. How about some te-qui-la?" she heckled, making Alex laugh. It was the first time he smiled all day. "You said you wanted to be miserable today during our camping trip, remember?"

He smirked at her as he sipped some whiskey. "I was half-joking, but if you really want to-"

"Not man enough?" she asked, sticking her tongue out at him. The bartender set two shot glasses of tequila and she softly groaned. "Oh, we're gonna need more than that, sir. More, please."

"I'm _always_ man enough for tequila," he insisted.

They each picked up a shot glass and lightly tapped them together before they downed their first shot. Second round arrived shortly afterwards. Then a third, fourth and fifth round. By round number six, April was visibly drunk after finishing Alex's glass of vodka as well. He wasn't quite there yet, but he was close. It took him another glass of whiskey and two more rounds of tequila shots to lose his sober state of mind.

One thing their coworkers learned was that they made for a very obnoxious duo when they were both drunk. Kevin and Jo's first dance as husband and wife was partially disrupted by boisterous laughter from the back of the reception room. April and Alex were cracking jokes at the bar, poking fun at the bartender who officially cut them off because it was obvious they had had enough.

"I need air," April said, grabbing Alex's hand and pulling him off of his bar stool. "Weddings make me sick."

Walking outside to the golf course, it was already nighttime. The wedding ceremony took place in the early evening, so the pathways and acres of grass close to the main facility were dimly illuminated by the building's lights. He carefully led her through the grass, both of them walking unbalanced due to their drunken state, and stopped a hundred yards from where the reception was.

"Why is grass green?" she asked with a slurred speech and scrunched her nose. "Why can't it be pretty like… pink?"

"Pink is for wussies," he scoffed. Alex noticed she was shivering and removed his jacket. He sloppily placed it over her head, then he chuckled. "Warm now?"

"Jerk." April removed the jacket from her head and wore it. "You're probably that guy who lets the woman fall into the puddle instead of helping her step over it."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Whatever. If a chick falls into a puddle, it's her own damn fault for not seeing it." He stared back at the facility where the wedding reception was visible through the large windows. He could see the bride and groom and their guests enjoying themselves inside. "I hate being here."

April sighed, nodding in agreement. "It's the first time ever that I hate weddings. You know, I don't think I want to get married again," she blurted out. "I'll just find a man slave to do things for me, but I won't marry him. Because… you marry the person you love and God takes him away from you. God said, 'April's too happy at the moment. Let's get her.' And bam! Jackson's gone."

Maybe it was the alcohol speaking for her, but Alex couldn't help but grimace. She didn't want to get married again? Bullshit, he thought. It was the tequila. He wasn't sure why he took it personally. The marriage thing didn't work out for him either. Izzie divorced him when he was being a good husband, even after she fled. He took care of her medical bills and he was by her side when she found out she was cancer free.

He was a good husband, but it didn't matter.

"You must have screamed His name too much during sex," he quipped. She stared at him completely disgusted. He cleared his throat, growing slightly nervous until she burst into laughter. "Dude…"

"Oh, man. You looked so scared like I was gonna kill you for saying that," she replied, laughing harder by the second. April pointed at him as she shook her head. "You're a funny guy, Karev."

The peds surgeon let out a sigh of relief. He was certain a sober April would have scolded him for his joke. One of her many pet peeves was jokes about her religious faith, but she was wasted and more passive than usual. He decided to roll with it and laugh along with her.

Music could be heard from where they were standing. She surprised him by wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her body against his chest. "Dance with me," she bluntly said.

Not that he had much of a choice. She was already all over him. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling awkward about slow dancing outside in the middle of a golf course. At the same time, his drunk self appreciated the closeness between them. It was probably the closest he would be to having sex with her any time soon.

"So, uhh… are you driving down to California when you move?"

"Hmm… yeah," she replied, half-distracted by his cologne. "You smell good. You never smell this good."

"Well, I didn't want to smell like ass at a wedding," he said, making her giggle. Her breath and the tip of her nose tickling his neck gave him goosebumps. He lowered his head, his lips close to her ear. "Don't tell anyone this, but… I'm gonna miss you."

April slightly pulled away from him, gently biting her lower lip as she made eye contact with him. There was lust in her eyes. Her face inched closer and closer… then she touched the tip of his nose with her finger. "Boop," she squeaked and chuckled as he stared at her confused.

He furrowed his eyebrows when she fell over and lay on her back. She wasn't hurt based on her continuous giggles. Standing over her, he folded his arms and smirked at her. "You're freaking wasted- whoa!" he yelped when she grabbed his legs causing him to topple down next to her.

They lay beside each other staring up at the sky. She pointed at a random star in the form of a small, white dot. "I think that's Jackson," she declared. Then she pointed at a few other stars. "And that's Reed, Charles and my dad. Yup, I always know where they are."

Alex turned his head sideways to look at his drunk companion. She was slowly beginning to sound just as nuts as Rebecca Pope… Ava… the psycho bitch who peed on Meredith's old couch years ago. Next, she closed her eyes with a smile on her face, which confused him even more. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Visualizing Jackson," she softly said. "It's the only way I can say, 'Hi', to him when I don't have a picture with me."

"Okay…"

He slowly retracted back to his original position, gazing up at the sky again. His fingers grazed hers when he shifted against the grass and he raised his eyebrow as her fingertips lightly stroked the back of his hand. Looking back at her, her eyes remained closed. She must have been imagining she was lying next to her husband instead of him. Whatever. It was weird, but he decided to let her have a relaxing moment with imaginary Jackson.

Their quiet and soothing relaxation was interrupted by the timed sprinklers turning on. Alex shot up to his feet, helping April stand up as water sprayed on them from various directions. He grasped her hand as they ran back towards the reception.

"I can't run in these heels!"

And on cue, he scooped her up with one arm, holding her against his shoulder as he carried her back to dry land. Once they reached the patio of the main facility, he set her down as they shared another laugh. They weren't soaked, but their attire wasn't exactly in the best shape either. The back of Alex's white dress shirt was covered with grass stains and the bottom of April's dress had visible water spots all over.

"That was pretty heroic of you," she playfully teased, poking her finger against his chest.

"Superman's got nothing on me," he gloated. Alex reached for her hair and removed a blade of grass from it. "So uhh… you really mean what you said about never getting married again?"

"The truth is… I don't even remember what I said," she answered, chuckling at him. "Maybe I should marry three men and I'll be set. One could die and I'll have two more husbands left over. Perfect situation, right?"

Alex smirked at her. "What if I was one of the three husbands?"

April shook her head. "No way. Wanna know why? You would get too jealous of the other two husbands and kick their asses, so you could have me all to yourself," she insisted, tugging on his neck tie. "You'd be the bad husband."

"Bad husband? I can be good," he retorted with a scowl on his face. Regardless of how drunk she was, her words offended him. There were many things he thought he was good at. One of them was being a good husband. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, don't be such a Frownie Brownie," she teased. "I'm just…"

Her voice trailed as she covered her mouth with her hand. Before he could take a step back, the trauma surgeon vomited all over his clothes. He stared down at his dirty attire with a disgusted expression on his face. Kids puked on him all the time in peds, but it was still gross.

"And I just bought this shirt too," he bitterly replied. "Damn."

* * *

The wedding came and went, and so did April's drunken escapade with Alex. She remembered about half of that night, mainly the part when she humiliated herself by throwing up all over his clothes. It was quite the sight for their coworkers when they returned to the reception smelling of a mixture of alcohol and vomit. For a few days, she was embarrassed to see him. He seemed fairly agitated when he left the wedding with Meredith. At work, they didn't speak of it at all.

As the days passed, the move to Palo Alto crept closer and closer. April managed to sell her house quickly – to Kevin and Jo, who jumped at the opportunity to snatch up the beautiful home. She had done some packing, mostly things she wasn't using on a daily basis. She thought Jordan would be fine with moving to a new city and state, but he eventually learned that Palo Alto was _not_ anywhere near Seattle and he started acting out, throwing temper tantrums and talking back to April.

His behavior only added on to the stress she typically carried from work. Even Karen had trouble disciplining him.

"I'm not moving to Cal-fornia!" the 5-year old shouted at April, shooting an angry glare at his mother. A conversation about which toys to pack away early turned into a heated argument. She couldn't believe she was fighting with a child, but his behavior had been going on for two weeks and she had had enough.

"Jordan, you're moving to California and you're going to make new friends when you start Kindergarten in the fall," she sternly replied, shaking her finger at him. "And you also need to stop being disrespectful to me and Grandma Karen. You do not talk back and yell at us like you've been doing."

"I don't wanna move to Cal-fornia!" Jordan picked up a block and threw it at a random direction. However, it hit the back of Cameron's head as he played alone nearby. It didn't take long for the 3-year old to start crying.

April was about ready to lose it. She grabbed her son's arm and pointed at Cameron, who was being comforted by Karen. "Jordan Charles Avery, you apologize to your brother this instant!" she ordered.

Alex let himself into the house and the sounds of April and Jordan's high-pitched voices could be heard in the living room. He was aware of his godson's attitude change, but he hadn't been around to help out April. He was busy at work with a large group of kids from Africa arriving the week before. The program he proposed as a resident remained strong, but that particular week brought in a group of seven children, so he didn't have time for anything outside of the hospital.

He stopped at the entrance of the living room where he saw Jordan struggling to free himself from April's grip. Grimacing, he had never seen her have such a difficult time handling her oldest boy.

"Oww! Dammit, Jordan!" April cursed after he kicked her shin. Her outburst was enough for him to unleash his own tears. The kid knew he was in big trouble if his mama let out even a minor curse word. She rubbed her shin as he ran off crying.

Turning around, she noticed Alex staring at her uncomfortably. It wasn't often she became that angry, so he knew it was bad. She was exhausted and frustrated. She needed to leave before she blew up at everybody.

"I have to go," she tearfully said, walking out of the living room. "I can't be here right now."

"Listen, I'll go talk to him, okay?" he barely managed to say before she left the house.

Alex sighed, greeting Karen with a quick nod before he followed Jordan outside into the backyard. He stuffed his hands inside of his jacket pockets as he scanned the area for the little boy. He was nowhere to be seen, but he knew where he was hiding. There was a small playhouse next to the swing set. Walking closer to the playhouse, he could hear faint sniffles coming from inside.

He knocked on the plastic door before kneeling down and opening it. Jordan was sitting in the corner with his arms folded and sporting the pouty lip. "Hey, buddy. Can I come in?" He nodded his tiny head.

Alex had to squeeze through the small doorway as he crawled inside. He sat in front of Jordan, his back slightly hunched over. He unfolded his arms and patted his shoulder. "Why did you kick your mom?"

"I don't wanna move to Cal-fornia," he murmured, sniffing as he stared at the floor. "Mommy says I have to."

"She got a new job down there, so you have to go. I know it's a bummer, but you can't hit your mom or answer back to her. It's not cool," the peds surgeon advised.

"But what 'bout Henry and Sofia and Zola and my other friends?"

"You'll make new friends in California," he insisted. "You'll be starting Kindergarten where you'll make lots of friends and those kids will also be new, so you won't be the only new kid."

Jordan looked up at Alex with his teary eyes. "But Daddy's up here." He and April made frequent visits to the cemetery just to say, "Hi".

"Yeah, but he would want you to listen to your mom and be a good boy. He wouldn't be happy with you kicking her."

"And Auntie Alice is here and Mama Catherine…"

"Your Aunt Samantha will be in California."

The little Avery scrunched his nose. "But she's mean. She gots no toys." His comment made Alex softly chuckle, but his next one made him frown. "You're not gonna be in Cal-fornia."

Now that broke his heart. He didn't want to leave his Uncle Alex behind. "Well… I'll come down to visit once in a while, buddy," he promised and rubbed the top of his head. "Just because you're moving it doesn't mean you'll never see any of us again. I'm sure your mom will plan trips to come up here when she can."

"You won't be at my soccer games," he whined. "You're sposed to watch me play."

"I'll come down and catch a game or two, okay?" Alex pulled Jordan close to him and wrapped his arms around his small body. He let him cry on his shoulder as he kissed the top of his head. "But you gotta promise me that you'll behave from now on. No more temper tantrums or hitting your mom or anything like that. Remember, nobody's gonna like you if you're a mean dude. Okay? Promise?"

"Uh huh, I promise," he murmured.

Alex gently rubbed Jordan's back before he sat him on the floor. "And when your mom comes back home you need to apologize to her. She's still sad about your dad going away, so being mean to her isn't helping."

He normally wasn't the nurturing type of guy, especially with children. Most of his young patients drove him nuts because they refused to listen to him. However, when it came to his coworkers' kids he was great with them – except for Max, who once literally bit his ankle. He furiously told Mark and Lexie to keep one half of the twins away from him ever since. But Jordan was always his favorite because he was his godson and they bonded from the moment he was born. And the little dude shared with him a lot of things that he sometimes didn't tell Jackson and April.

Because he was cool Uncle Alex. In many ways, he was unofficially a second father to Jordan, Cameron and Logan. He loved them like they were his own… which sometimes scared him.

* * *

April didn't have a specific destination when she got into her car. For a while, she just drove around the neighborhood trying to calm down. She had never been so furious at Jordan before and she instantly felt guilty. She reminded herself that she was trying to discipline him, but he wasn't cooperating with her. However, she rarely raised her voice at him as much as she did. While being a mama's boy, he probably would have listened to Jackson if he was alive to witness their spat.

She cried in her car as she searched for a place to sulk. Lexie was home because of her maternity leave, but her due date was very close to arriving, so she decided not to bother her and possibly break her water by passing her own stress to her friend. She thought maybe somebody at the hospital would listen. With one more week left before the big move, she wanted to see her colleagues as much as possible before then.

Of course, her first choice was Alice. She could always confide in her baby sister about anything. They met up in the tunnels, which April believed was the quietest area to talk. Side by side, they sat on one of the unused gurneys as she blubbered to her sister about how she was an awful mother.

"You're not awful, Apes," Alice assured her, wrapping her arm around April's shoulder. "He's been kind of a terror about moving, so you were bound to snap. He'll eventually understand what he did was wrong. I mean, he freakin' kicked you. He was out of line."

"I didn't expect him to take this moving stuff so hard. He seemed to be okay with it, then he found out Palo Alto wasn't in Washington and he freaked out for two straight weeks," she continued, wiping away her tears. "If Mom wasn't here to help me, I don't know how I could deal with him. It makes me miss Jackson even more. He'd never act out like this if he was alive."

"Maybe, maybe not. He still could've reacted the same way about the move," she suggested. "And I can see why Jordan's been upset. You're leaving a lot behind in Seattle. His little friends are here and he's used to seeing the doctors here. He has family up here that he sees every day. And Alex, he's like really pissed that you're leaving."

April turned her head and raised her eyebrow at Alice. "He is? I didn't know that."

Alice quickly shrugged. "He's been a dick to me whenever I'm on his service, but after talking to other interns, he hasn't been as harsh. Plus, I heard him bitching about you and Stanford once in the OR. He was mumbling to himself, but I could make out what he was saying." She playfully nudged her older sister with her elbow. "You think you can tell him to go easy on me before you leave? He might be worse when you're gone."

The trauma surgeon softly laughed to herself. "Alex never really congratulated me on the Stanford job. He's also been acting weird since I told everyone about it. Throwing up on him at Banks' wedding didn't help. I'll talk to him later. He's at home right now dealing with Jordan."

"That's it!" the intern chirped. "He's going to miss Jordan. You know how much he loves spending time with him."

"Well, that doesn't give him the right to treat you horribly at work." She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "Maybe I can get him to drive down to California with us. I could use an extra hand with some of the furniture we're bringing with us. Do you think he'd want to help?"

"Just convince him to stay away from the hospital for a few days," she begged. "Anything to avoid his grumpy self for a change."

April smirked at her. "He's actually not a bad guy to hang out with when he's not douchey. He can be fun, which I used to find hard to believe since we couldn't stand each other for the longest time," she recalled and laughed. "I'm glad we can get along now."

* * *

When April returned home she could smell Karen's home cooking from the kitchen. She found Alex sitting on the couch with all three of her boys in the living room. They were watching the animated version of _Peter Pan_ together, though Logan was focused on playing with Alex's fingers while he sat on his lap. The peds surgeon had the other two Avery's sitting on each side of him. Seeing them all together in one room helped her understand why he would be pissed about them moving.

Alex glanced up at her and nodded his head towards her. "Hey," he greeted her. He tapped Jordan's shoulder and pointed at April. "Go do your thing, dude."

Jordan jumped off of the couch with a piece of paper in his hand. He ran towards April, stopping in front of her. "I'm sorry for a being a bad boy, Mommy," he innocently said and held up the paper. "I made a card for you."

April smiled and took the handmade card from him. Inside was a drawing of himself surrounded by hearts and the words "I love you" written above it. "Aww, you're so sweet. Thank you, baby." She picked up her son and kissed his cheek. "I know you're a good boy, so you have to stop doing bad things, okay?"

"Okay. Does your leg hurt?"

"No, my leg is fine." She set him down on the floor. "But you know what? I can tell you're going to be a very good soccer player because you sure can kick hard."

"Uncle Alex said he's gonna come watch my games!" he cheerfully said.

"He is, huh?" April's eyes shifted towards Alex, who stared back at her. "Jordan, why don't you finish watching your movie with Cam, while I have a little talk with Uncle Alex?"

Alex slowly stood up from the couch, carrying Logan with one arm. He approached April, while Jordan returned to his spot on the couch. They went outside, taking a seat on the porch swing. "So, uhh… I talked to him. Everything's sorted out now."

"Thank you for doing that. I was so heated that whatever I said wasn't going to help the matter," she insisted, smiling at Logan when he happily reached for her. She let him crawl from Alex's lap and onto hers before she picked him up. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"Yeah. Your mom invited me." He softly chuckled. "She was pretty relieved that I talked some sense into Jordan or whatever. He threw a block at Cam's head?"

"Unintentionally, but he just has lucky aim, I guess," she replied, rolling her eyes. April decided to change the subject. "I went to the hospital for a bit. Talked to Alice. She told me you've been hard on her at work, more than any of the other interns. You should cut her some slack."

"Your sister doesn't know what she's talking about," he scoffed. "She's an intern. I treat all interns like crap."

"She said you've been mad about me leaving," she added as she helped Logan stand on her thighs. "Is it because of the kids? I know how much you adore them."

Alex swallowed hard and tapped his fingers against his knees. "Uhh, yeah. I… I'll miss them. I've known them all since they were born. How can I not miss them?"

April grinned at him. "What about me? You won't miss me at all?"

"Shut up," he playfully retorted. "Of course I will."

"What do you think about driving down with us next weekend? You know, help me move?" she asked, nervously biting on her lower lip when he gave her a skeptical look. "I could use some help since I'm not sure Samantha's husband will be available to lend a hand. If it's too last minute to ask you-"

"I'll do it," he answered willingly. Alex wanted the time off of work after spending what felt like endless hours in the OR fixing sick children from Africa. He knew Arizona could handle the cases and despite his dislike for Jo, she was reliable enough to assist. "I'll make sure I get that weekend off."

"Oh, thank you!" she squealed, surprising him when she kissed his cheek. "And when I'm all settled in the new house I thought maybe we could do a day trip in San Francisco with my mom and the kids. My mom really wants to see the city before she returns to Ohio in September and this is probably the best time to do it before I start working at Stanford."

Alex nodded and shrugged. "Yeah, we can do that. I never explored San Francisco either." He smiled at her as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "It'll be cool."

She let out a sigh as he gently rubbed her shoulder with his thumb. Something about the gesture felt more than a friendly shoulder rub. "So… I think Jordan's expecting you to come to all of his soccer games."

"I told him I'd try to make it to some, but I do want to come down when I can." He noticed her eyebrow twitched and half-smiled at her. "What was that little eyebrow raise for?"

"Huh?"

He pointed at her eyebrow. "You did some weird twitchy thing after I said I wanted to visit you guys when I'm not working," he replied. "You got a problem with me visiting?"

"What? No!" She softly smiled at him. "It's just kind of funny to see how much you care, that's all."

"I have a heart, you know."

"And it's nice to see more of it," she insisted, lightly poking his chest and making him laugh. "You continue to amaze me with your sweet side, Karev."

Alex rolled his eyes, trying to dismiss her compliment. "Yeah, whatever."

April grinned at him as she stood up holding Logan against her shoulder. "You can try to hide behind your bad boy persona all you want, but I know that's not you anymore. You can't fool me no matter how hard you try."

He laughed to himself when she walked back into her house. Besides Meredith – and in the past, Izzie – April could figure him out most of the time. Perhaps that was why he was falling for her. She refused to take his crap when he acted like an ass, yet she found a way to understand his complex life. When he looked past her quirky habits he understood why Jackson married her. She was the type of support system he wanted, somebody who wouldn't hurt him the way his past lovers did.

She could very well be his person, but he had a hard time believing he was hers.

* * *

**As always, let me know what you think please :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the reviews! ****Enjoy the latest chapter! :)**

* * *

It was April's final day as a surgeon at Seattle Grace Mercy West. The feeling was bittersweet for her because she would be leaving behind friends, a group of surgeons who treated each other like family. They all risked their necks for each other many times in the past. It took a while for them to warm up to her perkiness and neurotic personality, but she was one of them. She didn't have that feeling of exclusion when she was in the same room with her colleagues.

There were a lot of good memories, but many bad memories as well. The shooting, the plane crash that nearly took the lives of her friends, her car accident… losing Jackson, which was the worst for her. But trauma certification, becoming Chief Resident – despite how awful she was at it, becoming a mother and marrying Jackson helped balance out some of those memories.

Seattle used to be the city she chose to complete her residency, but after a while, it was home. Now she was leaving it to open a new chapter in her life. She was thankful to have family in the area, even though Samantha Avery wasn't the most hospitable sister-in-law she knew. But the cardiothoracic surgeon promised she would be taken care of. Because she was an Avery, Samantha ensured her that she would be given respect from day one. However, April wanted respect from her new colleagues because she was an excellent surgeon and not due to the Avery name.

Her house in Palo Alto was ready to be moved into. It was mostly furnished, but they were still bringing along some of their own furniture, so a U-Haul trailer was needed for their road trip to California. She was grateful to have Alex driving down with them. Between her and Karen, she was the only reliable driver and driving for double digit hours with a few pit stops here and there would have been draining if she had to do it alone. Most of the packing was completed. She almost couldn't believe she was leaving Seattle the following day. She was definitely going to miss it.

The doctors organized a small bon voyage party for April in the attendings lounge. They weren't going to let her leave without formally saying goodbye to her. Lexie had gone into labor the day before, so she was the only person missing, although she and Izzie were in charge of the party. She gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Lily that morning.

"I'm going to miss you so much, Dr. Kepner," Shane sadly said as he hugged April. Even though he had chosen neurosurgery as his specialty, the trauma surgeon remained his favorite attending because she provided him with life lessons that he didn't get from anyone else. "The ER won't be the same without you."

"Aww, I'll miss you too, Ross." She pulled away from the fifth year resident before she sternly looked at him. "Take care of my sister, okay? If I get any calls from her and she's crying because of something you did, I will fly back here as quickly as I can to kick your ass."

The cheerful grin from Shane's face dropped instantly. "Y-yes, Dr. Kepner. I promise I'll take care of Alice," he nervously replied.

April smugly grinned. She loved scaring him. "Good. I trust you," she chirped, playfully patting his cheek before walking away from him. What she didn't see was Shane letting out a big sigh of relief.

She then approached Alex, who was stuffing his face with the mini sandwiches set out on the table. "Remember, we're leaving at 5 AM sharp, so don't be late."

"I got the memo… like seven times now," he mumbled while he chewed his food. "And I live three freaking blocks away. I won't be late."

"Yeah, but living close by only makes procrastinating easier. Knowing you, you're going to wait until it's five minutes to five before you leave your house," she nagged. "It's a long drive, so I want to leave as early as possible to beat some traffic."

"Dude, we could leave at 5:01 and you'll act like we're behind schedule," he replied, rolling his eyes. "I won't be late, alright? I'll be at your place before five, so stop getting on my ass about it. If you're like this now, I can't freaking wait to be stuck in a car with you for thirteen to fourteen hours."

April smirked at him. "Oh, you're gonna love music I have set up for the drive. Nursery rhymes galore!"

"I'm stoked," he sarcastically said, then he half-smiled at her. "Just don't force me to sing along or I'm turning the car around without you in it."

"I highly doubt you can carry a tune anyway," she quipped, gently squeezing his bicep as she walked past him.

He briefly glanced back at her with a smile on his face. Nobody knew just how much he was looking forward to driving down to California with her family. It was a nice break from work and it meant he could spend time with her without people speculating or gossiping about them.

"You're like a lovesick puppy," Meredith interrupted his happy moment with her teasing. She chuckled when his smile returned to the familiar Karev scowl. "Oh, lighten up. Does she know how you feel about her?"

"Of course not. I'm not stupid," he retorted.

"So you're just driving down to California with her and dropping her off like it's not a big deal?"

"Why the hell do you care, Mer? You said it couldn't happen, that it's too soon for her to be dating anybody."

"I still think it is, but this would be your opportunity to tell her the truth," she suggested and shrugged her shoulders. "Isn't that why you agreed to help her move? It's not just about seeing the kids or being a good friend. I know it's more than that."

Alex picked up a few more mini sandwiches. "Whatever," he muttered. "This weekend's not about me."

Meredith could see how uncomfortable he was talking about April with her. He didn't have anybody to talk to about his feelings, but he also wasn't the type of person who easily shared them. Logan's birthday party was the most recent exception since his friend practically cornered him in the kitchen.

She always considered Alex to be more opposite from April than Jackson was. He was messy and crude. He didn't have the best bedside manners, though they improved over the course of his surgical career. The trauma surgeon was a neat freak, polite and uber perky when she was in a good mood. In a way, they balanced each other out. He toughened her up, while she softened him.

April was reliable and caring. Meredith realized quickly that Alex wanted a woman like that in his life. But she feared he would be rejected. While she was friends with April, she had been friends with Alex longer. She wanted to see him happy and settled down with somebody. If a long distance relationship were to happen, she doubted it would work out because he was impatient and stubborn and the redhead often questioned herself too much.

Neither of them deserved to get hurt, but she felt for Alex. He had been screwed over by women too many times in the past.

* * *

"I want to bring her to California with me," April gushed at Lexie's new daughter as she cradled her in her arms. She snuck out of her own party to visit her friend in her hospital room. "Can I bring her with me? I promise I'll send her back with a tan."

Lexie giggled and shook her head. "No, you can't bring her. I've only spent a total of three hours with her today."

"She's just so precious. Holding her is bringing me back to when I got to hold Cam and Logan for the first time right after they were born," she added, smiling at the sleeping newborn. The baby girl already had a full head of dark brown hair. Some of the doctors suspected she would have photographic memory like her mother and already called her Lilypedia. "I wish I could get to know her better before I leave tomorrow."

"Gosh, I can't believe you're leaving already. It's not going to be the same here without you," Lexie admitted. "But I know you'll kick ass at Stanford. We'll do FaceTime chats. I'll get together with Izzie and we can have our weekly Sunday meetings like we usually do. It'll almost feel like you're with us."

"Hopefully, my schedule won't clash with our Sunday's too often. Being in charge of my own department now might make things a little tricky."

"So, Alex is driving down with you," the neurosurgeon decided to change the subject. "He's been doing a lot of selfless things for you lately."

April nodded and smiled. "Yeah, he's been great."

Lexie pursed her lips together, then she smirked at the trauma surgeon. "Great as in awesome or great as in, 'I want to marry this man'?" she inquired.

"What?" she replied with a surprised expression on her face. "I don't want to marry Alex. He's just been a really good friend since Jackson died. We agreed we would get through our grief together and he's been keeping his word. It's nice to see this caring side of him. I mean, it's _Alex_."

"The same Alex you once had a crush on and almost lost your virginity to," she reminded her friend.

"That was years ago and I was stupid. You and Jackson warned me about him and I didn't listen," April answered defensively. She quickly shook her head and sighed. "We're just friends. And for the record, I asked him to come with us because I needed help moving in our furniture. Plus, the boys will get to spend time with him, Jordan especially."

Lexie held up a finger. "But he cares for them like a father," she pointed out. "He's not like that with any other kids."

"My babies have always been close to Alex even before Jackson died. There's nothing different with his relationship with the boys," she insisted.

"Okay, but _your_ relationship with him is different."

"Fine, I do think our _friendship_ is better than it's been since I met him. We both lost somebody important to us. We're each other's support system. That's all." She softly laughed. "And I'm not his type anyway. I've known that for years."

"Does that mean you'd actually date him if he was interested?"

April shook her head again. "I'm not ready to date, especially now. I'll be busy trying to adjust to my new workplace and familiarizing myself with a new city, while taking care of my sons. There's no room for dating." She slightly frowned. "And I thought I'd be dating Jackson for the rest of my life."

"Don't you think Jackson would want you to be happy with someone instead of being alone?" Lexie speculated. "I'm not saying you have to replace him, but are you seriously considering living the single life?"

"He left me three months ago. There are days when I don't know what I want, Lex."

"You didn't really answer my question," she reminded her. "Would you date Alex if he was interested?"

April slowly shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she softly said as her eyes gazed down at Lily. She felt uncomfortable talking about her love life because she hadn't thought about dating at all until Lexie brought up the topic. And bringing Alex into the conversation forced her to see their friendship differently. "It wouldn't work out if we tried. We won't be living in the same state. I just… don't believe Alex has those kinds of feelings for me."

Lexie grinned at her. "Who knows? He's been full of surprises lately with how thoughtful he's been towards your family," she implied. "Maybe it's not just about the kids for him."

"You really think he might have…" She paused and forced herself to laugh. "No. Can we drop this topic? I feel like it's beginning to screw with my head and I don't want it to. Alex and I formed a solid and trustworthy friendship over the past few months. I don't want to say or do anything to jeopardize that."

"Okay, we'll stop talking about it." Lexie chuckled. "He wasn't bad in bed from what I remember."

"Lexie!" April gasped, then she carefully handed Lily back to her. "Mark would've had a cow if he heard you saying that. That's so awkward and inappropriate. Anyway, I'll stop by again after my shift. I'll see you later."

Lexie smiled as she stared down at her sleeping child. "Just go with your instincts, April."

Rolling her eyes, she left the room wondering if maybe Lexie was right. What if Alex did have feelings for her?

Horrible timing, she thought. Partly because their friendship wouldn't be as close as it was if Jackson hadn't passed away, but also moving away made it more complicated. Then again, she had no idea whether or not feelings were there, so she tried not to overanalyze her conversation with Lexie.

But another thought bothered her. When would she feel ready to move on and start dating again?

There was one person in the hospital who she believed could offer some words of wisdom. She stood in the doorway of Catherine's office, slightly nervous about asking her for advice. Mama Avery was sitting behind her desk dealing with paperwork. She knocked on the open door to get her attention.

Catherine glanced up from her work and softly smiled at her daughter-in-law. "Oh, April. I was just finishing up some things before I head down to your little party," she greeted her.

"Actually, I was hoping I could talk to you alone for a bit," she replied, gently biting down on her lower lip. "But if I'm interrupting-"

"Nonsense, honey. I always have time for you. Come in," the urologist invited her into her office. "You can shut the door as well."

April closed the door before she sat down across from Catherine. It had been a while since they had a decent conversation between the two of them. They both dealt with Jackson's death differently. After the hysteria Catherine experienced following the events of his passing, she kept herself busy with work. She was her boisterous self again, though April knew she was using it as a mask to hide her true emotions about losing her baby boy. She even went on a two-week getaway in Italy with Richard just to escape from reality for a while. When she returned she was almost back to her normal self. Almost.

On her desk were various picture frames of the family. The one that stuck out the most to April was her wedding photo with Jackson. Her wedding still felt like it just happened yesterday.

"What did you want to talk about, dear?" Catherine asked, removing her glasses and setting them on top of her paperwork.

"Umm, well… it's a little embarrassing to ask you this, but I kind of have to now since I'm leaving tomorrow," the redhead answered as she tapped her fingers against her knees. "I-I know this isn't the same situation, but… when Harper left you how long did it take until you felt ready to move on to someone else?"

"Is there a new man in your life?" she answered with her own question, raising her eyebrow at April.

"No… no new man," she insisted. "I just wonder umm… how would you feel if I started dating another man? I will always love Jackson, but I don't want to be alone forever. You're happy with Webber even though it took a while for Jackson to warm up to you two being together."

Catherine chuckled to herself. "Oh, baby. Are you worried I'll be upset about you seeing other men? Listen, I know you'll always love Jackson. That part of you will never change. First and foremost, I want to see you _happy_, April," she truthfully said. "But I do want to see you happy with a man who will love and respect you the way my baby boy did. And he better be a damn good father to my grandbabies as if they were his own. He can't have you and not accept those boys."

April quickly nodded. "Of-of course. I don't want to be with somebody who doesn't want children," she agreed. "Some guys get scared off easily by one kid. I have three, which makes my pool a little smaller."

"The boys are all sweethearts. I may sound biased, but I can't see how anybody wouldn't want to be a father to those three darlings." She picked up one of her picture frames and turned it around to show off a photo of her three grandchildren smiling brightly on a couch. "They're so lovable."

"Yeah, they are," she replied, smiling at the picture. April's face dropped as she thought about Jackson. "Why do I feel like I'm going to be cheating on him when I start dating again? He didn't choose to leave me like Harper did when he left you."

Catherine sighed. "Don't feel guilty about dating other men. I understand that jumping back into the dating scene is scary, but how else will you meet another husband?" She playfully waved her finger at her. "Special men don't fall out of the sky, you know."

"That usually goes for all men when it comes to me," she muttered.

"Do not fall back into that insecure woman I first met as an intern at Mercy West," Catherine scolded her. "Your confidence has improved since then and you're a wonderful mother. You were a wonderful wife too, so whoever you meet will be one lucky fellow."

"Thanks," she sheepishly replied.

Of course, Catherine Avery would approve of a new man now because he didn't quite exist yet. But what if that new man was Alex? If he felt that way about her anyway. Mama Avery might change her mind then.

* * *

There was one last thing April needed to do before she left Seattle. She couldn't leave without visiting Jackson at the cemetery. It wasn't determined yet when she would be back in town again, so visiting him as well as Charles and Reed was necessary.

What – more like _who_ she didn't expect to see at the cemetery was Mark. The plastic surgeon stood alone in front of Jackson's headstone, having a conversation with his deceased student. It was the first time April saw him like this. Since that tragic day, the Head of Plastics seemed to have lost some of his swagger. His attitude hadn't been as lively as it used to be when he poked fun at his friends with sarcastic comments. It was like he had fallen into a depression, but carried on as if he was alright.

His friendship with Jackson was amusing to April. Her husband told her about the time he drove to Derek's dream house and yelled at him to get into his car like he was his rebellious son who snuck out past curfew. He thought Jackson was ditching plastics for neurosurgery and became insanely jealous over it like he was losing his girlfriend to his best friend.

They were the Plastics Posse. They formed a brotherhood. Despite being married to Lexie, a part of Mark felt incomplete without Jackson around. He was the first and only resident he cared enough to teach. He missed the young plastic surgeon a lot.

April noticed a bottle of whiskey in his hand as she slowly approached him. "Sloan?" she softly called out to him. "Are you… are you drunk?"

Mark turned his head to look at her. "Me? No," he chuckled and held up the bottle. "This is for Jackson. It's a little thing I do when I visit him. I pour some whiskey over his grave, give him a drink since he loved this shit."

"Oh," she replied, forcing herself to laugh. The gesture was sweet, but strange at the same time. "I didn't know you've been visiting him. How often do you come here?"

"Once a week," he admitted. "Usually at night after work. Overheard you telling Izzie at your party that you were stopping by. Thought I'd beat you here, so we could talk before you get all weepy."

"Okay…"

Mark cleared his throat, his face appearing sullen and nervous. "I was standing outside with the others, waiting for that ambulance carrying Jackson to pull in. He was conscious when he arrived. In the trauma room, he started to lose consciousness, but he mumbled something that I was able to make out. I'm not sure exactly what it meant and I don't know if he was speaking to anybody directly. I figured you'd know. I feel like an asshole for never telling you this until now."

"What did he say?" she asked, trying to hold back the tears in her eyes.

"Me and you," he answered, furrowing his eyebrows when April choked back a sob. "You do know what that means."

She nodded her head, covering her mouth with her hand as she quietly cried. _Me and you_. Those words came true the night before their boards in San Francisco. After punching Kevin and unleashing a side nobody had seen before, she became bold and kissed Jackson. And everything changed after that.

The phrase was even engraved inside of their wedding rings.

Mark pulled her close, hugging her and letting her cry against his chest. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," he guiltily said and rubbed her back with one hand. He used the other one to take a swig of whiskey. He needed it after making the trauma surgeon weep in the cemetery.

"It's fine," she murmured. "Thank you for telling me."

"Do you want me to leave you alone?"

April shook her head as she pulled away from Mark. "No, you can stay." She cleared her throat and wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her jacket. "So, uhh… what do you talk about with Jackson?"

"Anything," he answered with a shrug. "Mostly, I complain about my idiot residents. Their sutures suck. Jackson always had a perfect mattress stitch. It's not that difficult of a stitch and we use it all the time, but my residents – how are they still working here?"

"That's why you _teach_ them how to perfect it, Mark," she noted, smirking at him.

"Nah. They're too stupid to teach," he complained. "Besides, I had Jackson around to teach them for me."

April sighed as she stared at her husband's headstone. "He became a really good teacher from what I heard," she glumly replied. "It's going to be weird trying to date again – whenever I decide to – but I want the boys to have a father in their lives."

"Want me to screen prospective husbands for you? I bet I can pick out which ones will or won't flake out on you," he offered, making her laugh. "You deserve a nice guy, so if I have to kick someone's ass, just let me know and I'll do it."

"I appreciate it. Really," she sarcastically said and softly chuckled.

"So, Stanford," Mark changed the subject, grinning at her. "It's about damn time they noticed you. I think they would've knocked at your door again whether or not Jackson's sister worked there. You're too good to not be running your own department. Plus, you're working on your own schedule. Gives you the power to be more flexible with it, so you can hang with the kids more often."

"I'll miss this place, though. I wouldn't even be at Stanford if Hunt hadn't given me another chance after I failed my boards." She gestured her hand towards Jackson's headstone. "And he and I may not have ever gotten married, but Jordan brought us back together. I wasn't ever going to hide our son from him."

Mark rested his hand on April's shoulder. "We'll miss you all. Sofia's bummed that she can't chase Jordan anymore for kisses," he added, sharing a laugh with her. "That kid's gonna break a lot of hearts. He's got the Avery charm down."

Jordan was a mini Jackson. Looked like his father, smiled like him, had the athletic genes. Although he hated it when Sofia and Zola tried to kiss him, April knew he would eventually be the one trying to kiss the girls. It was only a matter of time. She hoped it wouldn't happen any time soon. She wasn't prepared to give her 5-year old son the birds and the bees talk yet.

"Oh, gosh," April groaned. "I'm so looking forward to that phase of his life."

"Who knows? Maybe Cam will be the real ladies man."

"Sure… after he stops clinging on to my leg whenever he becomes super shy," she quipped. "He'll break out of his shell one day. I know he will. He just needs a confidence boost. Kind of like me. Actually, he _is_ me."

"And Logan?"

April quickly shrugged and smiled at Mark. "I don't know yet. Maybe he's a mix of both Jackson and I. He's not extremely outgoing like Jordan, but he's also not as bashful as Cam," she explained. "It's neat seeing how different their personalities are from each other. They'll all grow up marching to their own drum. I won't force them to do anything they don't want to do."

"Like choosing cardio for their specialty, right?" he joked, eliciting a playful nudge from her. "Well, whatever they end up choosing to do, Jackson would be proud."

"Yeah," she sighed. "He'd be very proud."

* * *

Moving day arrived and for Alex, it was going to feel like the longest day of his life. He would be crammed inside of an SUV with April's family for about thirteen hours, while a playlist she made would be playing nursery rhymes sung by creepy adults. They planned on splitting the driving shifts, but he suspected he would eventually take over 75% of the driving. He supposed he didn't mind. Most of the road trip would consist of driving through Interstate 5, which made it fairly easy for the both of them.

He wasn't late like he promised. Well, showing up at the house at 4:59 AM didn't make him late, he insisted. He claimed he was early. April simply rolled her eyes at him. The boys were all sound asleep when she and Alex quietly loaded them into the car. Karen was seated in the backseat beside Jordan's car seat. Cameron and Logan's car seats were in the middle, while the two surgeons sat in the front.

Logan was the first one to wake up and he was cranky. Fortunately, it happened when they made a pit stop at Voodoo Doughnut in Portland. April protested the idea, claiming how unhealthy all of the sugar would be for the kids, but Alex ignored her and bought a box anyway. He was craving a Maple Bacon Bar and nobody was stopping him from fulfilling his wish.

As a joke, he bought April the Cock-N-Balls doughnut and her face turned almost as red as the lipstick she occasionally wore. She forced herself to eat most of it quickly before Karen could figure out what it resembled. There were a few inappropriate jokes made by Alex, which made her laugh and earned him a couple of smacks on the shoulder. After the brief break and a gas reload, they were on the road again.

By then, all three Avery boys were awake and munching on snacks. With everybody awake, April connected her iPod to the audio system and opened her playlist of nursery rhymes. She watched the peds surgeon cringe when the first song started playing loudly. He listened to Jordan sing along from the backseat, while April encouraged Cameron to clap to the beats of the songs.

They stopped in Eugene for lunch and to stretch their legs. April took over the driving afterwards, while Alex slept, or at least tried to. Jordan's voice kept him up as he played an I Spy game with Karen and Cameron. April was humming along to the nursery rhymes, so any chance of getting peace and quiet was slim to none.

Despite all of the chatter inside of the car, neither of them spoke much to each other. Alex lacked sleep and slowly became grumpy and April was busy keeping her eyes on the road while she occasionally checked on her kids through the rearview mirror. There were a few glances at each other, but nothing out of the ordinary. Although after her conversation with Lexie, she began seeing him in a different light. She sort of wanted to kill her friend for making her question their friendship, if it could become more. On a positive note, she trusted him with her children. He loved being there for the boys.

However, she couldn't understand why Alex would want her now. The only interest he had in her was that one time in the on-call room and it wasn't exactly _her_ he wanted. He simply needed to get laid. She constantly annoyed him. He hated her voice. April listed all of the characteristics about her that he loathed in her head to keep herself from leading herself on for nothing.

They finally crossed into California, making yet another pit stop in Redding to switch drivers. About four hours later, they were in San Francisco. Jordan was delightfully excited when they drove through the Golden Gate Bridge because it wasn't gold. It was orange.

"I like Cal-fornia now," he chirped. All it took was an orange colored bridge for California to win him over.

It was half past 7 PM when they reached their destination. Cameron and Logan were passed out in their car seats and Jordan was still raving about the Orange Gate Bridge. The adults were all exhausted from driving or watching the children. Fortunately, a couple of movers that Samantha hired were waiting for them outside of the new house. She called it a housewarming gift and she apologized for not being there to welcome her in person… not that April expected her sister-in-law to be there anyway.

Her new home was a two-story light tan house, about as big as her Seattle house or maybe bigger. It was located in a neighborhood not too far from the hospital, approximately ten minutes away. There was a swimming pool in the backyard and a treehouse. She knew Jordan would have a ball with the latter. Unpacking was going to be a pain in the ass, but she decided she would take care of the important things and deal with the rest the next day. She and Karen took the children and went to the closest grocery store to fill their refrigerator and cupboards with food.

Alex, despite how tired his face showed, helped the movers bring in the heavier furniture. He even assembled Logan's crib and Cameron's bed. By the time he finished everything, it was almost 11 PM. He was worn out and hungry. Plopping down on the couch in the living room, he shut his eyes and groaned. His body ached from all of the lifting and sitting in a car for hours. It was a long day, but in many ways worth the trip.

April went out on a late night food run, while Karen made sure the boys were all asleep in their bedrooms. She returned with burgers and fries, much to the delight of Alex. He thought maybe she would bring home healthy crap.

"In-N-Out. Banks and I gave it a try when we were here for our Stanford visit a few years ago. They're really great," she insisted as she set their fast food dinner on the coffee table. "And they're healthy burgers too."

He snickered. Of course the burgers had to be deemed healthy for her to consider indulging in fast food. "Thanks. I appreciate you buying real food for me."

"Well, I appreciate you coming down with me. It would've been harder without you," she replied, smiling back at him as she walked into the kitchen. April returned with two cold beer bottles in her hands. She handed one to Alex before she sat beside him on the couch. "You deserve that."

Alex removed the bottle cap and sipped his beer, letting out a sigh of relief. "Freakin' A, I needed this." He reached for one of the burgers and started eating it. "Good burger."

"Try not to drop any sauce on my couch, Karev. I'm not in the mood to clean up after you tonight," she playfully warned him.

"Whatever," he mumbled with a mouthful of food. "You'd do it anyway."

April rolled her eyes as she ate her own burger. Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed a drop of sauce spilling out, but fortunately, it landed on his shirt. She also hated it whenever he wiped his hands on his pants instead of using a napkin. There was a set of napkins sitting on the coffee table for crying out loud! He was the biggest slob she knew.

At least he didn't stain her new couch.

She threw away their trash after they finished eating, then she sat down beside him again. It suddenly became uncomfortably silent between them. "So," she said, trying to start another conversation. "Another long day tomorrow. There's a lot of things to do in San Francisco."

"We're not going to any museums, right?" he asked worriedly. "No offense, but art and crap bores the hell out of me."

"There's more to San Francisco than museums, Alex. Besides, we might end up spending most of our day staring at the Golden Gate Bridge because Jordan's in love with it." She gently patted his knee and smiled. "I probably already mentioned this before, but I'm glad you're here."

He half-smiled at her. "I'm glad to be here too."

There was something different about the way she looked at him. He had a funny feeling in his stomach, especially when she slowly leaned forward towards him. In response, he leaned back and moved his head away. Was she actually trying to kiss him?

"Y-you have sauce on the side of your lip," she said, forcing herself to laugh to hide her disappointment. He wasn't into her after all.

"Oh." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Uhh… thanks."

April instantly stood up and grabbed her beer bottle from the coffee table. She was embarrassed. Her cheeks were turning a light shade of red and she didn't want Alex to see that. "I-I I'm really tired and I'm sure Logan will wake me up early, so I'm heading to bed."

Slightly grimacing, he knew she was hurt based on how fast she walked towards the stairs. "Hey, April-"

"Goodnight, Alex," she called out as she went upstairs.

Douche. He felt like a big douche, but how was he supposed to know she might have developed feelings for him? She didn't exactly drop any hints, yet he had the opportunity to kiss her and he passed it up. The scared little boy inside took over. And he wanted to believe Meredith was right, that they wouldn't work out. He wasn't into long distance relationships and April probably wasn't either.

It was also possible that he had just ruined any chance of being with her anyway. She didn't think he was interested and he made her look stupid. Freaking A.

* * *

**As always, your feedback is much appreciated :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks for the reviews! :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Alex thought it would be awkward between him and April after her failed kiss attempt the previous night, but that wasn't the case – sort of. She was too preoccupied with getting the kids ready for their day trip to San Francisco, so they hadn't been able to talk about what happened. Although, he was hesitant to mention it because he wasn't ready to tell her how he actually felt about her. He decided to keep his mouth shut unless she spoke of it first.

He was in charge of driving everybody to and from San Francisco. He didn't know the area well enough to navigate through the city easily. GPS systems drove him nuts and hardly trusted them, but at least he had April to ensure he wouldn't turn into a one way street. And he thought downtown Seattle was a pain to drive around. It was a Saturday. The weather was bright and sunny, so people were spending their day outdoors. To him, it felt like the entire state of California decided to visit San Francisco. Finding a freaking parking spot near Fisherman's Wharf took a half an hour and because the area was loaded with people, April was even more paranoid about losing one of her boys in the crowd.

Sometime before leaving Seattle, she researched the most interesting and kid friendly places to visit in the city. She found a neat package from Fisherman's Wharf that offered five different activities in one day. Alex knew Jordan would eventually whine about his legs hurting since he didn't have the luxury of being pushed around in strollers like Cameron and Logan. So he let the 5-year old sit on his shoulders and listen to him brag about how much taller he was compared to everyone else.

Their first stop was the Aquarium of the Bay at Pier 39. Jordan immediately grew excited, especially when they walked through the tunnels where they were surrounded by water and various types of sea creatures. He constantly asked where Nemo was.

"The shark ate him, dude," Alex jokingly answered, but he quickly regretted it after his godson frowned. "Oh, I was kidding. Nemo's still alive, kiddo."

They spent a lot of their time in the "Touch the Bay" area where visitors could pet sharks, rays and other animals. April jumped at the opportunity to take as many pictures as she could, while Alex assisted both Jordan and Cameron as they reached out to touch the animals swimming by. Karen watched close by after Logan fell asleep in his stroller.

"I touched a shark, Mommy!" Jordan excitedly yelled out as he grinned back at April. "And he didn't bite off my finger! Uncle Alex said the shark would be dinner if it tried."

"I'm pretty sure they wouldn't let people touch sharks who bite," she replied with a smirk. At this point, Alex was having a hard time convincing Cameron to simply dip his finger in the water. Her middle baby clutched the peds surgeon's forearm tightly whenever a shark or a bat ray swam by. "They don't bite, Cammy. It's okay."

"They're nice sharks, Cam," Jordan insisted, pulling on his brother's arm and trying to get his hand wet. "Not like the mean one in _Finding Nemo_."

Alex reached out and touched a leopard shark that passed by. "See? They don't mind being touched by people," he assured the 3-year old. Gently holding his tiny arm, he carefully held Cameron with one hand and used his other to help him touch the water. Another bat ray swam towards them and he managed to get the little fingers to touch it.

The glasses-clad boy giggled and looked up at Alex. "Dat's slimy," he softly said, then he leaned forward towards the small pool. "I touch again!"

April chuckled at how assertive Cameron suddenly became after finally touching one of the animals. He was so eager to interact with another one that Alex had to hold on to him tightly to prevent him from falling face first into the shallow pool. She really admired how comfortable her children were with her friend and vice versa.

When they first arrived in San Francisco, Alex was in a grouchy mood because he couldn't find parking right away. She hoped he would try to be enthusiastic about their day trip, but so far, he appeared to be thoroughly enjoying it. She reminded herself to wait another few hours when he would likely become cranky again. But the boys were having fun with him and she always found it impossible to have a bad day with them constantly laughing and smiling.

After the aquarium, they ate lunch before boarding a boat for a cruise around the bay. It was an hour-long tour that also acted as a nice rest stop for the children, so they weren't on their feet all day. The cruise was relaxing as it passed by Angel Island, Alcatraz and even going underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. Jordan once again was amazed by the orange bridge and April made sure to snap a picture of her son with the historical landmark in the background.

Alex didn't mind the boat tour even though it was a bit on the boring side. A lovely old couple sitting beside him on the deck of the boat caught him off-guard when they asked him an unexpected question.

"Where did you and your wife adopt those adorable little boys from?" the elderly woman politely asked.

As much as he wanted to say, "She's not my wife and those are her sons with her freaking dead husband," he couldn't do it. The couple was friendly, but that didn't stop him from slightly scowling at them.

"Uhh, she's not my wife," he muttered. "And they're not adopted."

"Oh? Boyfriend?"

Alex shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, whatever."

"She looks like a keeper that one," the elderly man pointed out as they watched April take more pictures of her sons nearby. "Good looking too."

He folded his arms and cleared his throat. Like he wanted dating advice from two old people he knew for a minute. Then again, they weren't wrong either. He could see himself being with the redhead in the future – if he hadn't blown his chance last night.

The elderly woman stood up and tugged on Alex's hand. "Hey, young lady. Why don't I take a photo of you and your boyfriend?" she called out to April.

"My boyfriend?" the trauma surgeon asked, slightly taken aback by her comment. "He's not my-"

"Let's just take the picture, okay?" Alex cut her off and rolled his eyes. He stood beside April with the city skyline as their background. "I'll explain later."

They were barely shoulder to shoulder when the elderly woman gestured her hand. "You two, you can stand closer than that! Put your arm around your girlfriend, young man," she ordered and waited for Alex to wrap his arm around April's shoulder. Holding up the camera, she grinned at the two surgeons. "Smile!"

After taking a picture with him, she thanked the old woman before she raised her eyebrow at him. "Girlfriend?"

"Old folks cornered me. Whatever," he replied, sheepishly slipping his hands inside of his pockets. "And they thought your kids were adopted. I couldn't just ignore them."

"Well, I don't blame them. Their skin tone doesn't exactly match mine… or yours," she said, softly laughing. Opening the library on her camera, she was surprised to find Alex smiling in their picture. She was positive he had been sporting the Karev scowl after the elderly woman forced them closer together. "You didn't ruin the picture. I'm impressed."

"I can't help it if I'm hot sometimes," he quipped, making her laugh. Although he told himself not to bring up the almost kiss, he wanted to ensure that everything was still cool between them. "Uhh, about last night-"

"What about it?" she asked, pretending to be unaware of what he was referring to.

Alex bit the inside of his lip. He suddenly lost his balls. "Nothing," he replied, shaking his head. He rubbed his nose with his thumb and sighed. "We should definitely get some more of that In-N-Out food before I return to Seattle."

April slowly nodded, forcing herself to smile at him. "Yeah, and I heard there's a secret menu. Supposedly animal style fries are good, whatever that is."

They heard Jordan calling for his mother, so she excused herself and walked away. He groaned, looking up at the sky. It was rare of him to lose the courage to speak, especially when it came to April. He never hesitated to poke fun at her in the past, but when it came to telling the truth he was awful at it.

* * *

"How in the hell do we get out of here?" Alex impatiently asked as he and April struggled to find their way out of the frustrating and not so Marvelous Mirror Maze at the _Ripley's Believe It or Not!_ museum. The attraction was the last of the five activities in their package and they were stuck in the maze for almost an hour. He thought it would be a cakewalk and dragged her along, while Karen brought the kids to the museum's candy store. Every now and then, he thought he found an opening only to ram his face into a mirror.

"And you thought we'd be out of here in less than a minute," April scoffed, laughing again when he ran into another mirror and cursed. "Maybe you should slow down and quit being so impatient. Besides, I'm starting to think we're walking in circles now."

"I swear, we're almost out of here, but these damn mirrors are ruining my train of thought every time I run into one." He stopped in the middle of a small room surrounded by mirrors. "Okay, I think we should go to the right because the left brought us back to this place."

He grabbed her hand and led her towards an opening in the maze. She appeared surprised by the gesture, but she figured it was more about desperately wanting to escape the maze once and for all. Just when they thought they were finally finding their way out, his face collided with another mirror.

"Son of a bitch!" the peds surgeon groaned and placed his hand over his face. That one hurt like hell.

She softly gasped at the sight of a small cut on his left eyebrow. "You're bleeding, Alex."

Alex lightly touched his cut, slightly wincing. "I'm never stepping a foot inside of a mirror maze again. At least you can cheat in the outdoor mazes," he complained.

April pulled out a pocket tissue from her purse and trickled water from her bottle on it. She reached up to clean the cut, but he immediately retracted from her. "Don't be such a baby," she teased.

He closed his left eye when she gently dabbed the wet tissue against his cut. "You better not tell anybody about this."

"Who am I gonna tell?"

"I don't know. Lexie? Izzie?" he murmured. "You know Yang would give me crap about injuring myself in a freaking mirror maze. I bet Jordan would've found a way out faster than us. Kids always seem to be smarter than adults with these types of things."

"Probably because they're having fun, while adults like you are too eager to get out and end up hurting themselves by running into mirrors," she taunted. April stood on her tip toes and softly blew at his cut. "It's just a scratch."

The feeling of her blowing air against his face sent shivers down his spine. He took a deep breath and stepped away from her. "Thanks, I guess. I could've done it myself," he insisted. "Let's get out of here already."

April continued to follow Alex through the maze. At least this time, he was smart enough to extend his arms and feel for potential mirrors waiting for his face to smash into them. When they finally found the exit he raised his arms over his head in triumph.

"Never doing that again!" he exclaimed.

"All you needed was some patience, that's all," she reminded him.

"Whatever. It was a stupid maze," he brushed off her comment.

"Why do you always do that?" she asked irritably.

Alex slightly scowled at her. "Do what?"

"Act like an ass whenever I'm being nice," she answered, folding her arms. "When are you gonna grow out of that little act you do?"

"Dude-"

"And don't call me dude! I'm so sick and tired of you doing this all the time." April snapped, then she started walking away from Alex. "C'mon, my mom's probably wondering where we are. I'm sure the boys are already spoiling their dinner with candy."

Alex ran his fingers through his hair as he followed her downstairs to the candy store. He hated it when she was right, but she had a point. Nobody was going to want him if he continuously treated them like crap.

* * *

Exhausted after a long day in San Francisco, April slowly walked down the stairs after putting Logan to sleep. He was the last of the three Avery boys to fall asleep since his naps throughout the day disrupted his sleeping pattern. Jordan passed out easily, having had a sugar high from the candy he ate and the ice cream sundae he enjoyed when they stopped by Ghirardelli's ice cream shop before returning to Palo Alto. And it only took three pages of _One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish_ for Cameron to fall asleep. She was proud of how outgoing her middle son was that day and most of it was because of Alex.

Freaking Alex. He was the only person she could like and hate at the same time. Their friendship was always based on that. Bicker one minute, then become buddies the next. They were dysfunctional together. But that was how they tolerated each other. One wasn't more annoying over the other. In her mind, they equally irritated each other.

But she had been frustrated with his hot and cold attitude for the rest of the day that she barely spoke to him. He treated them all to ice cream sundaes after dinner, but that didn't change how pissed she was at him. Maybe she hid her feelings well because Karen hadn't noticed anything different between them.

He was sitting on the couch, his legs stretched out on top of the coffee table as he channel surfed with the remote control. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught April staring at him from the bottom of the stairs. She quickly walked into the kitchen when he made eye contact with her.

The tension between them was bothering him, so he decided to follow her. He pushed himself up from the couch and entered the kitchen where she was finally opening some boxes containing dishware she hadn't unloaded yet. They were out of the house the whole day, so she hadn't been able to unpack the rest of her boxes.

"You want some help?" he offered as she placed the dishes into the dishwasher.

"No, I can do it, but thanks," she replied, although it wasn't the most gracious response.

Alex softly groaned. "I get it. You're pissed at me, but whatever I said to you doesn't even compare to some of the crap I said in the past. It wasn't even that big of a deal. That maze _was_ stupid."

"It was _your_ idea to go in there in the first place." April threw her arms up in frustration. "Whatever, we had fun for the most part, so just leave it at that. Tomorrow, I have to meet with Samantha at Stanford to get to know my new coworkers and I'm not in the mood to argue with you right now. I'm tired and I just want to go to sleep, but I still have so many things to unpack and I hate stalling-"

"You need to relax," he interrupted her rambling. "You're being all uptight and it's annoying when you are. Your brain's all over the place right now, so just freaking relax."

She snickered as she placed a couple of plates inside of the dishwasher. "Yeah, like I'm going to take advice from you," she sneered. "And you're one to talk, Mr. Grouchy."

"You know, I really wish you were-"

"What? Wish I was what, Alex?" she asked with her arms folded. "If you say dead, I'm going to-"

He surprised her when he cupped her cheeks and kissed her. Her eyes were wide open even after he pulled away from her. She clearly wasn't expecting _that_ after she was positive he didn't have those kinds of feelings for her.

"What was that?" she softly said, shyly biting down on her lower lip.

"Me being freaking honest for once," he muttered. She stared at him in confusion forcing him to tell her the truth. "I tried not to think about you like this. I've been fighting it since that camping trip, but you're just so… hot- I mean, you're a beautiful woman. Uhh… and we've been spending a lot of time together. It just happened or whatever. I don't know how to explain it without sounding like an idiot. I didn't just want to come down here with you because you asked me to. And the way you shotgunned that beer…"

April was amused by how the fast tables had turned. Alex became the rambler, while she listened to him stutter and partially make sense. She never had this type of effect on the peds surgeon and for once, he let his guard down and softened up to her. It was endearing. Her instincts were wrong the whole time.

Moving closer to him, she lightly tugged on his t-shirt and pulled him in for another kiss. He casually returned the kiss, resting his hands against her lower back. They were so lost in their intimate moment that they hadn't heard Karen walking into the kitchen.

Clearing her throat, she watched the two surgeons immediately separate. April wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as she looked back at her mother, while Alex put his hands behind his back and stared down at the floor. "I just wanted to know what time you were leaving tomorrow morning, April," she informed her, eying them suspiciously.

"Oh, umm… around eight o'clock. Samantha wants me at the hospital early," the trauma surgeon replied. "Is-is that all?"

Karen slowly nodded before she turned around. "Could you come upstairs with me for a minute, please? I've been trying to start up that Skype thing with Alice and it's not working for me."

April knew that wasn't what she needed her for, but she followed her mother upstairs. They walked into the guest bedroom, then she closed the door behind her. "Mom, I know what you're thinking. Alex and I haven't been together this whole time."

"Actually, that's not what I was thinking. Plus, I always thought Alex was Alice's type more than yours," Karen admitted, sitting down on her bed. "Are you sure you're ready to start seeing other people, dear? And he's flying back to Seattle tomorrow. Why would you do that to yourself?"

"Do what exactly?" she asked curiously.

"Get yourself attached to Alex when you know he's only here for the weekend," she answered worriedly. "I don't want to see you getting hurt, especially when you only lost Jackson three months ago."

"I'm not attached to Alex. We're just friends, Mom," April insisted. "I'm not even sure how I feel about him. It's confusing. We've been supporting each other since Jackson died and he's been great with the boys. I really trust him, which says a lot considering we used to never get along."

Karen shook her head. "And you two should stay friends," she suggested. "I'm sure you'll meet a nice man who will take care of you and the boys without the long distance getting in the way."

"But the boys are comfortable with Alex. They know him. What if I do meet a man and they don't like him? It's over right there," she replied and frowned.

"So, do you want to be with Alex because you truly _want_ to be with him? Or is it because he knows how to handle your children, which makes him a safe and easy choice?"

April softly laughed. "Alex Karev is not easy, Mom. He's one of the most complicated guys I know."

"Listen, I know you're old enough to make your own decisions, but trust me on this one. You do not want to get yourself involved with him. I appreciate the fact that he's been a major help with the boys, but I've seen his not so nice side and that's not what you need," Karen advised.

"Oh, geez," she groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please don't say anything to him when I'm not home tomorrow. I don't want to come home from the hospital and find him pissed off about something you said."

"I promise I won't talk to him behind your back," she said, smiling at her daughter. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep. You should rest too. You're going to be up early tomorrow."

April nodded in agreement, then she hugged Karen and kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, Mom." She left the guest bedroom, but decided to check on Alex before heading to her own bedroom.

He was back on the couch with his blanket covering him up. The peds surgeon spotted her as she entered the living room and opened the blanket for her. She quietly sat beside him and smiled when he adjusted the blanket to cover both of them.

"Your mom tell me how bad I am for you?" Alex chuckled after she hesitated to answer him. "Look, I'm not a dumbass. I know she doesn't want me seeing you because I'm a douche 60% of the time. Whatever. Mer doesn't think we'd work out anyway."

"She knew you… had feelings for me?"

"I didn't choose to tell her. She figured it out on her own," he insisted, then he sighed. "Perfect freakin' timing, huh? I know you wanted to kiss me last night. I just didn't think it'd be right because we'll be living in different states and I've never done the long distance thing. I'm not sure I could ever make it work. A long distance relationship isn't what I want."

"Oh," April replied, trying to hide her disappointment. She didn't believe she could handle a long distance relationship either, but she wasn't expecting him to give up that easily. "Y-yeah, I understand. A long distance relationship would be hard and… we'd both be too busy with work. And umm… I should probably focus on my new job and being a mom."

Alex slightly frowned. "Yeah, I guess." His hand found hers underneath the blanket and interlocked their fingers together. She rested her head against his shoulder, which only made him feel worse. Turning his head, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry I kissed you."

"Well, I'm not sorry I kissed you back," she murmured. "That's the truth."

"Can't you just freaking lie and tell me it was the most awful kiss ever?" he complained. "It makes it easier to pretend that I don't want to date you."

April sat up and stared at him. "No, because it wasn't awful. It was good. Better than good," she shyly said and bit her lower lip. "It was actually really… amazing."

_Screw it_, he thought. He quit holding himself back, placing his hand against the back of her head as he kissed her lips again. She wrapped her arms around his neck, wanting to be as close to his body as possible. He lay her back onto the couch with their lips never parting. He wasn't sure just how far they were going, but he didn't want to ruin the moment by asking her. If she wanted to stop, then he wouldn't push it. Also, with Karen upstairs, there was a chance she was still awake and getting caught in the act would make for one very uncomfortable and awkward encounter in the morning.

Oh, and they were on her new couch. He doubted she would want to ruin a perfectly new couch. And now, he was turning himself off with his very un-sexual thoughts.

"Shut up," he mumbled against her lips.

"What?" She pulled away from him and furrowed her eyebrows. "Did you just tell me to shut up?"

"No! I wasn't saying that to you," he sheepishly replied before he buried his face into her neck and kissing it to distract her. "Pretend I never said anything."

April giggled as she lifted Alex's head, pressing her hands against his cheeks. "Seriously, what was that about?"

Alex rolled his eyes. He was slightly pissed at himself for ruining the moment. "So, uhh… are we just making out or…" Her eyes grew wide, making him grimace. "I mean, you're not a virgin anymore, so yelling at you wouldn't happen this time-"

She placed a finger against his lips and smirked at him. "One, you can't yell at me or else you'll wake up the kids and my mom. Two, this is a new couch-"

"I knew this stupid couch would be brought up at some point," he muttered.

"And three, I don't want things to move too fast. In fact, do we even know what we want out of all of this, Alex? Sure, we're making out right now like we're high school teenagers, but what's going to happen after you leave?" she asked concerned. "We already agreed that a long distance relationship is going to be too difficult for the both of us."

"Can we not think about that part right now?" Alex asked, feeling agitated. He closed his eyes and groaned. "This is why I didn't want you to know how I felt about you. It'll always come back to the fact that you're here and I'll be in freaking Seattle. I'm leading you on for nothing."

April covered her face with her hands and sighed in frustration. "I better go then," she glumly replied, gently pushing him away so she could stand up. She walked towards the stairs without looking back. "Goodnight, Alex."

Alex sat up on the couch, then he hunched over and buried his face into his hands. Everything felt messed up to him. He desperately wanted to kick Owen's ass for encouraging April to take the Stanford job. If she hadn't taken it, they wouldn't be in such a complicated situation. He wanted her _badly_, but it just wasn't meant to be in his mind.

* * *

As usual, April woke up to the sounds of Logan gurgling and babbling through the baby monitor on her bedside table. It was half past six in the morning, which meant she had an hour and a half to feed her baby boy and get ready to meet with Samantha at Stanford. She yawned and rubbed her eyes as she climbed out of her bed. She left her bedroom, walking next door into Logan's. The youngest Avery child sprung up in his crib, grabbing the railing and smiling brightly at his mother as he bounced up and down.

"Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma!" the 13-month old babbled, ending it with a raspberry, which made April laugh. While he knew other words, mama was the only word he consistently said since he was eleven months old.

"You silly boy," she teased and picked up her son from his crib. After a quick diaper change, she briefly checked Jordan and Cameron's bedrooms. Both of them were still asleep in their beds. Carrying Logan in one arm, she quietly walked down the stairs. "You want oatmeal for breakfast, baby?"

Taking a glimpse of the living room, she stopped in her tracks when she saw her couch without Alex sleeping on it. The blanket she let him borrow was neatly folded and sitting beside the two pillows she provided. His duffel bag was also missing, making her even more suspicious. The house was fairly quiet and he wasn't the stealthiest person she knew. Something was off.

There was a small post-it note waiting for her on top of the blanket. She picked it up and it was a very brief message from him.

_I'm sorry. I suck at goodbyes._

April softly groaned, crushing the post-it note in her hand. He fled. She wasn't sure what time he left the house, but she hoped they could talk again before he returned to Seattle. "Unbelievable," she mumbled to herself.

Maybe she shouldn't have been so surprised that he left without saying goodbye. When he wanted to confront people he did it without any hesitation, but when he was afraid to face his problems he ran away like a coward. No wonder Jo walked out on him.

He could be in Seattle by now, but she didn't want to wait to find out. She retrieved her cell phone from her bedroom before she returned downstairs and walked into the kitchen. Dialing his number with one hand, she carefully set Logan in his high chair beside the island counter. As the other line rang, she set up a bowl of Cheerios for her son and set it in front of him. The first call sent her to his voicemail, but she called him again knowing he was ignoring her.

By now, Alex was sitting in a terminal at San Francisco International Airport and waiting to board his early flight for Seattle. He stared down at his cell phone as April's number appeared on the caller ID. To answer or not to answer?

"Dammit," he muttered to himself before he answered her call. "What is it, April?"

_"Where did you go?"_

"I'm at the airport. I found an earlier flight," he said, rubbing his eyes. "Look, I'm sorry I snuck out, but it's better this way."

_"How is it better? What am I supposed to tell Jordan and Cam when they wake up and find out you're not here?" she asked irritably. "If you didn't want to say goodbye to me, you could've at least stayed to say goodbye to them."_

"Just tell them that I had to go home early because I needed to fix a kid. They'll understand that."

_"So that's it? You're just going to run back to Seattle and pretend whatever happened last night didn't happen? We can't even talk about this?"_

"What is there to talk about?" he retorted. "We kissed, whatever. Nothing more will come out of that. The distance is too much and I can't freaking handle that and neither can you. You'll find some goody two shoes dude to take care of you and you'll forget this even happened. We should both get over it now while we still can, alright?"

_"Fine then. Have it your way," she bitterly replied. "You're not going to find a woman to settle down with if you continue this cowardly attitude."_

"Oh, kiss my ass. We were hardly a thing, so quit talking like we were in some committed relationship," he scoffed. Alex heard the other line disconnect, then he glared at his cell phone. "Bitch."

Back at April's house, she angrily set her cell phone on the counter and shook her head in disgust. "Bastard," she groaned, then she covered her mouth with her hand as she looked at Logan, who was feeding himself Cheerios. "Oops, sorry! Mommy didn't mean to curse."

Jordan entered the kitchen rubbing his eyes and clinging on to his stuffed tiger, Benny. "Mommy, I'm hungry," he softly greeted her.

"Okay, sweetie. What do you want to eat?" she asked, picking him up and sitting him on the island counter. "Do you want some apple cinnamon oatmeal?"

He slowly nodded his head as he swung his legs back and forth. "Where's Uncle Alex?"

April sighed and gently grabbed her son's legs to stop the annoying pounding noises his heels were making against the side of the counter. "He… had to go home to Seattle early. A kid had a bad ouchie, so he left to go fix it," she reluctantly answered.

"Is he coming back after?"

"No, he's not." Soon after, a frown appeared on Jordan's face. She gave him a hug and kissed his cheek. "I know you're bummed because he had to go while you were sleeping, but that doesn't mean he won't visit us again."

"When's he gonna visit us again?"

"I'm not sure yet, baby. Hopefully, soon." April pulled away from Jordan to see tears in his eyes. "Oh, don't cry. He felt really bad about having to leave so fast. He's very sorry, okay?"

Jordan pouted and folded his arms. "Uncle Alex is a meanie. He didn't say, 'Bye', to me." He sniffed and ducked his head to hide the tears trickling down his cheeks. "I don't like Uncle Alex anymore."

April rolled her eyes. She knew her oldest boy wouldn't take the news of Alex leaving lightly. He was attached to his godfather, so it didn't come as a shock to her that he was offended about not getting a goodbye from his favorite uncle. She couldn't blame him. She was upset with the peds surgeon too, but Jordan couldn't know exactly why.

"Aww, don't say that. I told you he's very sorry, so forgiving him is the right thing to do," she insisted, rubbing his small back. "When the timing's right you'll get to talk to Uncle Alex again."

"When?"

"I don't know yet."

"Okay, but when I talk to him again I'm gonna tell him I'm very mad at him," he declared, eliciting a soft laugh from April.

She sadly smiled at him. Her heart was breaking a little because Jordan was visibly upset about Alex leaving. And after their latest fight, she wasn't sure if she would be ready to talk to him again anytime soon.

* * *

**Yeah, I know. I'm kind of an ass :P Let me know what you think anyway!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for the reviews, folks! I was going to post this one yesterday, but decided to wait a day for one of my readers (Happy Birthday, greysanatomygleerasinghope!).**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Three weeks passed since April last spoke to Alex. Neither of them felt ready to call the other. Space was necessary considering their friendship had taken an unexpected turn over the course of two days. The trauma surgeon never told Karen the truth about what happened. She assumed they decided to be friends. Of course, Alex refused to open up about his feelings to anybody at Seattle Grace Mercy West. It wasn't worth the trouble in his mind.

He missed her, though. He also missed the boys. The Saturday he spent with them in San Francisco was one of the most enjoyable times he had in a long time. He hadn't been faking his happiness – except for the hour they were lost in the mirror maze. On the way home from work, he typically drove by the old Avery residence, but since he returned from California he purposely used a different route to avoid it. Anything that reminded him of April only bothered him even more.

She distracted herself from thinking about what could have been with Alex when she officially started working at Stanford. Her new role as the Head of Trauma was more demanding than when she was simply an attending, but she worked on her own schedule, giving her plenty of time to spend with her sons. So far, her new coworkers warmed up to her fairly quickly. They somewhat had to because she was an Avery. Nobody dared to cross Samantha and anybody related to her. However, they sincerely liked April because her personality was the polar opposite from her sister-in-law's.

Jordan also started his first week of Kindergarten. April initially butted heads with Samantha over whether to place him in a private or public school. It was just Kindergarten, but Avery's apparently never stepped a foot inside of a public school in their entire lives.

"Avery's attend private institutions," Samantha arrogantly told her. "I went to a private academy, as did Joslyn and so did your own husband. Besides, every choice you make with your children's education from now on influences what prestigious colleges they are admitted into."

"He's only going to be in _Kindergarten_," April argued. "Besides, this school you want me to put him in is how much a year in some _colleges_ costs. I mean, $22, 350 for _Kindergarten_? How much is nap time out of that tuition? $10,000?"

Samantha laughed as she slid a piece of paper across April's dining table. "Honey, didn't you read the curriculum? He's going to be learning subjects that second graders are currently just discovering. It's worth the money."

"But I don't even think I'll be able to enroll him with this short of a notice. Don't they implement some sort of admittance test first? I'm pretty sure we're way past that deadline."

"This is where I come in," she added. "I operated on the school's principal two years ago and we've become great friends. I informed her of your situation before you moved here and she was able to work some magic for you. There's exactly one spot open for Jordan in the Kindergarten class. And when Cameron begins preschool there will be space for him as well."

"I don't know," April replied, frowning at the cost of the tuition. "It's a lot of money."

"You're the Head of Trauma at Stanford, April, _and_ you're an Avery. You can afford to splurge your bank account on your baby boys." Samantha began counting on her fingers. "Not to mention, middle school and high school will be covered. You wouldn't have to search for another school to send him to after junior high. Just one school until he leaves for college. Simple, right?"

April always wanted the best for her sons, but she still couldn't believe Kindergarten could cost that much money. She felt a huge amount of pressure to send Jordan to the school Samantha suggested. Would Jackson want this for their child?

"Umm… I suppose it's okay."

"And they're Catholic," Samantha pointed out. "See? He would receive religious education there as well."

Except April wasn't Catholic. A Christian, yes, but technically they weren't the same. She didn't have a problem with sending her baby boy to a Catholic school, though. Although she and Jackson were never on the same page when it came to religion, this ultimately came down to her decision since her husband wasn't around anymore.

"My mother agrees with me when I say it's a fine school," the cardio surgeon said, throwing in the Catherine card.

And that ended the debate. The trauma surgeon was basically pushed into a corner she couldn't get out of and eventually gave in. Jordan would be attending a private school. At least he looked adorable in his uniform and picking out his clothes every day wasn't an issue. Still, she felt guilty for caving in, especially when Karen didn't appear too pleased with her decision.

But she put it behind her and moved on. She signed Jordan up for soccer before the deadline, so he had a new school and his first year of soccer to look forward to.

Alex tried to pretend everything was fine with him, despite the number of times Meredith tried to interrogate him over what happened in San Francisco. He ignored her whenever she brought up the subject, mostly because he didn't want to hear his friend tell him, "I told you so."

Walking into the attendings lounge, a scowl appeared on his face when he found Izzie chatting with April on her iPad. He never had to guess who she was talking to since he could recognize the redhead's voice from anywhere. The two exes greeted each other with a quick glance, then he opened the refrigerator to see whose lunch he could steal.

Jambalaya day in the cafeteria. Nobody ever got excited for that.

"So, how's everything going at Stanford?" Izzie asked her friend.

_"It's different, but I'm having a blast," April happily said, taking a seat at the nurses' station in the ER while she held her own iPad. "The doctors here are so kind. At first, I thought they were just being nice because of Samantha, but they genuinely like me. All of them actually listen to me, which is a relief."_

Izzie cheerfully grinned. "That's great! How are the cutie pies? You know, I think Shelly had a crush on Cam because she keeps asking me why we don't see you guys anymore. She said she misses her Cammy."

_April chuckled. "Aww, that's so sweet. The boys are fine. Jordan's first day of Kindergarten was Tuesday and he seems to be loving it. I was pressured into putting him in this private school that has the tuition of some universities, but they take pride in high class education," she explained and shrugged. "As long as Jordan doesn't slack off and flunk out, I guess it's worth it."_

Hearing Jordan's name caught Alex's attention. He slowly walked towards the coffee pot on the counter as he eavesdropped on the conversation. He stood close to Izzie, but not too close that April could see him on her screen.

_"My mom's returning to Moline this weekend. I'm not gonna lie. I'm already kind of freaking out," she said worriedly. "I mean, I could just ask her to stay longer, but I want to show her that I can take care of the boys by myself. I've already worked out how I'll be able to pick up Jordan from school and bring him to soccer practice. There's a neurosurgeon who I made friends with and he's got a little boy of his own. Coincidentally, he also attends Jordan's school and they're on the same soccer team. We're each other's backup plan when one of us can't leave the hospital on time."_

"Is he a _single_ neurosurgeon?" Izzie teased.

_"No, he's married," she sheepishly replied. April waved at somebody offscreen and called him over. A man with a short, jet black faux hawk hairdo and wearing the same royal blue scrubs as her hovered over her shoulder. "This is Nico Weston. He's an attending trauma surgeon like me. Nico, this is Izzie Stevens. She's one of my closest friends from Seattle."_

_Nico waved at the screen and smiled. "Hello, Izzie."_

The oncologist smiled back at Nico. "Hi! It's nice to meet you. Are you single?" She laughed when April rolled her eyes. "What? Just because I'm in Seattle and you're in Palo Alto it doesn't mean I can't play matchmaker."

Alex furrowed his eyebrows as he turned around to peek over Izzie's shoulder. He tilted sideways to get a better look at the new guy. Nico was a looker alright. His teeth appeared perfect – perhaps they were fake. And his blue eyes stood out from where the peds surgeon stood. From what he had picked up, he sounded like a nice man and probably the type of guy April needed in her life.

He already hated him.

Instead, he attempted to keep his eyes on April, who looked cute with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She seemed happy, unless she was faking it for Izzie. He wanted to rip the iPad out of his ex's hands, so he could talk to the perky surgeon alone. Unfortunately, he hadn't realized he was leaning in too close.

_"Is that Alex in the background?" April inquired, smiling when he sheepishly tried to hide himself. "Too late. I already saw you."_

Alex groaned and stood behind Izzie. "Hey," he lazily said, folding his arms and appearing irritated. "How's uhh, the Stanford gig?"

_"It's not as stressful as I thought it would be. Well, not yet anyway," she answered. "Umm, how are you doing?"_

"Okay, I guess. Whatever," he unenthusiastically replied. "The kids are good?"

_April slowly nodded. "Yeah, but Jordan's mad at you."_

"Why?"

_"Because you haven't called to say, 'Hi', or anything. He's upset, especially after you-" She cut herself off after Izzie raised her eyebrow at her. And she forgot Nico was standing behind her, which made things more awkward. She nodded her head back towards him. "This is my friend, Nico. He works in the ER with me."_

Alex smirked at the screen. "So, uhh… Nico, on a scale of one to ten, how annoying is she so far?" he quipped, drawing a glare from April. "Here in Seattle, she was like an eleven."

_Nico softly laughed. "Actually, she's pretty awesome," he admitted, gently squeezing his coworker's shoulder. "Anyway, I gotta go check on a patient. It was nice meeting you both."_

"Chump," he muttered after Nico left. Alex looked down at Izzie, who turned around and angrily stared at him. "What?"

"Can you go away if you're just gonna act like a dick?" the blonde surgeon retorted.

Alex shook his head as he headed for the exit. "I have better things to do than talk to you freaks," he sneered before leaving the lounge.

Izzie sighed and looked back at April. "Sorry about that. He's been such an asshole the last few weeks – not that his behavior surprises anybody."

_"Whatever, it's fine. Alex will always be Alex," April insisted. "He'll never change."_

* * *

He wasn't quite sure how he got stuck with the duty of picking up Zola from school that day, but he was also her godfather and sometimes he felt guilty about not spending as much time with her like he did with Jordan. Meredith was operating and Derek had a scheduled lecture at the University of Washington. Plus, the only way to get the general surgeon to shut up about April was if he did the simple favor for her.

So instead of bringing the first grader back to the hospital and dropping her off at the daycare center, he took a minor detour to Molly Moon's for an ice cream run. He knew Meredith would scold him for it, but he figured maybe then she would stop bringing up the untold story of what happened in San Francisco. Zola certainly didn't back down to ice cream, so why not spoil his goddaughter a bit?

"How come you're not eating your ice cream, Uncle Alex?" Zola asked curiously. The peds surgeon poked at the single scoop sitting in his cup, while the 6-year old was more than halfway done with her cone. "Are you having girl problems?"

"What?" he chuckled. Since when did Zola know anything about girl problems or dating in general? Then again, she was very smart for her age, despite not sharing the same genes as Meredith and Derek. "Why do you ask that, Zo?"

"Cause boys who don't eat their ice cream means they're having girl problems."

He smirked at her. "Who told you that?"

"No one, but I think ice cream is too good to let it melt," she answered and giggled. "If you're not gonna finish that, can I have it, please?"

"Sorry, but your cone is enough. Your mom will be really mad at me if she found out you ate too much ice cream in one day. Besides, we made a pinky promise that she wouldn't find out we went here, remember?"

Zola nodded her head. "Oh, yeah!" She happily kicked her legs back and forth against her chair. "How come you don't have a girlfriend?"

Alex softly laughed to himself. She was so interested in his love life that it was strange. He grew paranoid that Meredith had been using her daughter to seek out information from him about April. Maybe she already predicted that he would take her out for ice cream and asked Zola to interrogate him. The general surgeon did know him fairly well after all. Now he was making himself too paranoid.

"Uhh, I don't have one because… nobody's cool enough to be my girlfriend yet." He decided to play along with her. "Got any advice? What should I do to win over a woman's heart?"

"Umm…" Zola's eyes gazed up at the ceiling as she tapped her chin with her finger. "Flowers? Girls like flowers! Pink ones, Uncle Alex. And make sure they smell good."

He smiled when she waved his finger at him. "Okay. Aside from flowers, what else?"

"You have to take her out on a date at a fancy restaurant. Then, you have to buy a plate of spaghetti and eat it like the doggies in _Lady & The Tramp_, so you end up kissing after you eat the same noodle," she excitedly added. "But if they don't have spaghetti, then anything with long noodles works too."

"Uh huh," he said, nodding his head. "You got anything else after that?"

Zola was lost in thought again, thinking long and hard about what other advice she had for her Uncle Alex. "Umm… you can take her to Molly Moon's after. Girls like ice cream too. And then, you can sing to her when you drop her off at her parents' house."

Alex let out a laugh at Zola's last piece of advice. "I don't think whoever I take out will still be living at their parents' house and my singing voice isn't very good."

"But you gotta kiss her goodnight or else she won't marry you. Oh! And you have to buy her chocolate."

"In a heart shaped box?"

"Yup!" she chirped. "No coconut ones. They're yucky."

"I'll agree with you there," he concurred, winking at his goddaughter. "How do you know so much about dating?"

Zola brightly grinned at him. "Mama and Daddy always go out on dates. I saw Daddy give her flowers on Valentine's Day and then they went into their room and-"

"That's nice, Zo," Alex cut her off and forced himself to laugh. He wondered if Zola had ever walked in on Meredith and Derek. They probably claimed they were doing their taxes as an excuse. "Your mom and dad are really happy, huh?"

"Super happy!"

He reached across the table to wipe the ice cream stains around Zola's mouth with a napkin, removing every sign of evidence that she ate dessert before dinner. Listening to her brag about how happy her parents were caused him to think about the happiness he felt when he was in San Francisco with April and the boys. That weekend, he felt like a parent who appreciated taking care of his kids. And it helped that the Avery boys enjoyed his company. He also started to feel a little sorry for himself because he sought dating advice from a freaking 6-year old, but it was always the children that brought out the sweet guy in him.

If only he would let grown adults see that side of him more often. That was his biggest problem.

* * *

The following morning, Arizona strolled down the hallway searching for Alex. She found her favorite student sitting behind a computer at the nurses' station. "Karev," she called out as she approached him. "Can you babysit Sofia and Timmy tonight?"

Alex turned the monitor away from his mentor's view. "Why me? What about Sloan and Lexie?"

"Mark's working late and Lexie already has three kids, including a 3-week old, at home. She's got enough on her plate," she explained, placing her hand on his shoulder. "And since you're so great with your coworkers' tiny humans, you're our next choice."

"Fine, whatever. Where are you and Torres going?"

"Just out to dinner. You know, a date. One that doesn't involve our babies disrupting romantic mommy time," the Head of Pediatric Surgery cheerfully said. "I know you have a different definition of a date, but we should be home by eleven. Just come by our house by eight o'clock. They'll be fed and bathed by then, so all you have to do is get them in bed by 8:30."

He slowly nodded. "Alright. Am I getting paid?"

"If you were a high school teenager, yes," she quipped and stared at him curiously as he suspiciously used his body to hide the computer monitor from her. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Just working on… patient stuff." Alex furrowed his eyebrows when Arizona raised her eyebrow at him. "Dude, is there anything else you need? I'll be at your place by eight. I won't flake."

"What are you hiding, Karev?" she inquired. "Are you tampering with one of your patient's insurance again? Because if you are-"

"I'm not!" he snapped.

Callie approached them from the other side and laughed at what she saw on the monitor. "Karev, why are you skimming pink flowers on 1-800 Flowers' website?" She smirked at him after she realized she caught him in the act. "Who's the lucky lady?"

Alex scowled at the orthopedic surgeon while he readjusted the monitor. "Shut up. There's no lucky lady. I'm just freaking browsing." He listened to both of them snicker and rolled his eyes. "Can you leave me alone now? I'm babysitting your kids, so do me a favor and back off."

Arizona slyly grinned as she and Callie crowded him. "We're not going anywhere until you tell us who you're buying flowers for. Alex Karev does _not_ go out of his way to buy flowers for a woman."

"Yeah, you just get them drunk and screw 'em without knowing their names," Callie teased.

"Bite me, Torres. I'm not telling either of you crap," Alex retorted. He pointed at the computer screen. "And I don't know anything about flowers. How the hell am I supposed to know what to choose?"

"First of all, who did you piss off? You don't just buy flowers for somebody because you feel like it," Arizona pointed out. "I mean, the casual man would buy them to show affection, but you're… you."

Alex groaned. "I'm trying to do something nice for once. Is it that big of a shocker? A guy like me can't buy flowers for a woman?" he whined, shaking his head as he grew even more annoyed by his colleagues. "If you won't leave me alone, then freaking help me pick a set out."

Callie smiled at the peds surgeon. "You do know pink flowers typically represents love, right?" she insinuated, playfully nudging him with her elbow. "So who are you falling for?"

"We're not discussing that part, remember?"

"Does she work at the hospital?" She received another scowl from him and laughed. "When was the last time you slept with anybody, Alex?"

"Too damn long ago," he muttered.

Callie exchanged amused glances with Arizona before she pointed at the screen. "Why not go with the pink roses? It's simple, yet classy. You could use a little more class yourself." She chuckled after he cursed under his breath. "Sorry, but you make it so easy."

Arizona gently rubbed Alex's shoulder. "I'm with the wife on this one. Definitely buy the pink roses. They're romantic and they smell lovely," she agreed. "Oh, just don't say anything unflattering in the card. Show the woman you care."

"Yeah. No profanity or dirty sex jokes," Callie reminded him. "Anyway, we'll leave you alone now, so you'll stop pouting like Sofia when she doesn't get her way. This doesn't mean we won't try to figure out who you're sending these roses to. Nothing stays a secret at this hospital. Keep that in mind."

Alex let out a sigh of relief when the married couple finally left him alone at the nurses' station. If they were already teasing him for buying flowers for a woman, he knew it would be worse if they found out his surprising gesture was for the one and only April Avery. Then everybody would be talking. He was thankful Meredith hadn't spilled the beans to anybody. Cristina hadn't mentioned anything, so it was possible her Twister Sister could actually keep her mouth shut when it came to juicy gossip.

He was nervous about sending April flowers, especially since they hadn't officially talked about what happened in San Francisco. Their brief chat in the attendings lounge was awkward because Izzie was in the room. Also, the dork with the Mohawk ruined his mood. However, his quality time with Zola helped him feel better and he decided to take her advice about the pink flowers seriously. April seemed like the type of person who adored flowers, so he hoped she would gladly accept them.

A simple "Thank you" message was all he wanted from her even if she meant it or not. He just wanted confirmation that she received them and they didn't end up at a pervert's house.

After he placed his order, he stood up and walked down the hallway feeling more fearful than when he visited the website. "What the hell did I just do?" he mumbled to himself.

He wished he had done this when she was still living in Seattle. It would have been better to see her reaction than imagine how it would be because the only picture he envisioned was her dumping them in the garbage.

* * *

April arrived home from the hospital at around nine o'clock at night. Her day consisted of two patients dying in the ER and one intern embarrassing herself when the sight of parasitic worms being coughed up by another patient caused her to vomit. It was a messy day and she was relieved it was over. She entered her house where Karen was waiting for her in the living room. The boys were all in bed by then, which in a way was disappointing because she hadn't seen them all day except for that morning. Her neurosurgeon friend picked up Jordan from school since she was stuck in the emergency room when it was time to get him.

"Hi, sweetie. How was work?" her mother greeted her.

"Exhausting," she groaned, walking into the living room. April lazily plopped down on the couch beside Karen and kicked off her shoes. Her feet were sore from running in and out of the ER. "I'm about ready to pass out right here. No need to go upstairs to my room."

"Are you hungry? There's leftover lasagna in the oven for you," she offered.

"I'll eat in a minute," April softly said, closing her eyes. "I just want to relax for a bit. Were the boys all behaved today?"

Karen nodded. "They were fine. Cam drew you a picture. I put it up on your fridge," she replied with a smile on her face. "And Logan was very energetic today, running all over the living room. I had to make sure he didn't run into the coffee table."

April opened one eye to look at her mother. "I can't believe I'm missing that. Of course when I'm home he never wants to be put down," she said disappointedly. "One of the nurses I work with gave me the phone number of a nanny service she uses for her own children. I haven't decided if I should hire a nanny or take Cam and Logan to work with me and leave them at daycare. At least I'd be able to visit them during my lunch breaks."

"Well, you brought them to work with you in Seattle, right?" She watched her daughter nod. "Are you sure you'll be okay doing this alone? I don't want you stressing out every day."

"Trust me, Mom. I can do this," the trauma surgeon insisted. "And in the case I'm completely desperate for help, I will call you ASAP, okay? But for now, don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Karen pushed herself up from the couch. "I'm going to retire now. Cam and Logan are such a handful, but I love them more and more every day," she gushed as she approached the stairs. "Goodnight, April. Oh, and flowers were delivered here earlier. I don't know who sent them, though. I left them on the kitchen counter for you."

"Really? Thanks for letting me know. Goodnight, Mom." April forced herself to stand up to check out the unexpected gift in the kitchen. Sitting on the island counter was a vase containing two dozen pink roses, which made her smile. She picked up the card that came with the delivery and opened it.

_I hope they smell nice – Your Prince freakin' Charming_

She chuckled knowing who sent her the roses. If it wasn't for the word freakin', she wouldn't have been able to guess who her secret Prince Charming was. Alex Karev sent her flowers. Shocking, but impressive… and sweet of him. A call was necessary. The roses helped brighten her mood, despite the lack of romance in his note. Then again, that was probably his way of being romantic. He wasn't exactly a sappy guy after all.

Dialing the peds surgeon's number while she smelled the roses, she grinned at the delightful scent. Much better than what she had been smelling in the ER. She heard Alex on the other line as she retrieved her dinner from the stove. "Hey, Prince freakin' Charming," she playfully greeted him. "Thank you for the pink roses. I love them. I never thought you had it in you."

_"Uhh, it's no problem. It's my way of apologizing to you for the crap I pulled a few weeks ago," he sheepishly said. His legs were propped up on Callie and Arizona's coffee table as he relaxed on their couch. "So, you seriously like them?"_

"Yes, I do. I told you I love them," she assured him. She poured herself a glass of red wine before she brought her dinner to the dining table and sat down. "It was… really nice of you. Plus, I'm happy you picked up. I wasn't sure you would."

_"I've got nothing better to do. I'm freaking babysitting for Robbins and Torres," he muttered._

"Babysitting? Did you owe them for something you did in the past?"

_Alex softly laughed. "Funny, but no. They both kind of just cornered me and forced me to do it, especially after they caught me trying to order your damn flowers," he complained. "And they wouldn't go away. Kept asking me who the flowers were for, but I didn't tell them. I couldn't."_

"Hmm… yeah, I see how that could make things complicated for you," she said before eating a piece of lasagna. "Want to know how crappy my day was? The patients I was responsible for died in the trauma room and another one was puking worms. I barely saw the boys today, so the roses cheered me up."

_"Cool. Zola was right."_

April had a smirk on her face as she continued to eat her dinner. "Zola?"

_"Oh, uhh… Mer asked me to pick her up from school yesterday. Zola and I had a brief chat about dating and she told me girls like pink flowers. She also told me to make sure they smell good. Did I succeed?"_

"Mmhmm," she hummed while she sipped her wine. "They smell wonderful. So, you asked Zola for dating advice?"

_He rolled his eyes when he heard her giggling on the other line. "Du- she started it by asking me if I was having girl problems. I swear, that kid is too mature for her age," he insisted._

"Aww, she's so adorable. _Are_ you having girl problems?"

_"No… not really," he mumbled. "Is Mohawk dude your boyfriend now?"_

April grinned at how bitter Alex sounded on the phone. "He has a name. What if Nico was? Would that make you jealous?"

_"Whatever. Dudes with Mohawks don't make me jealous. Mohawks are for wannabe badasses," he scoffed. "And we're not freaking dating, so I don't care if you're with someone else."_

"For your information, he's not my boyfriend," she answered after drinking more wine. "We're friends, but it wouldn't work out if we tried to date since he's _gay_."

_Alex raised both of his eyebrows, then he smiled. He quietly let out a sigh of relief and cleared his throat. "Oh. I totally knew he was when I met him on Izzie's iPad."_

She laughed out loud. "You're a terrible liar."

_He decided to change the subject. "Umm, I was thinking about… coming down for Jordan's birthday next month. If… it's okay with you, of course," he reluctantly said._

"I would appreciate it if you came," she happily responded. "He misses you, Alex."

_"I miss him too. And uhh… you," he covered his mouth when he mentioned the last word._

"What was that? Did you say you miss me?"

_"Well, I told you I would before we crossed the line and stuff," he replied, rolling his eyes again. "That part shouldn't come off as a surprise to you. Also, if you say you don't miss me, you're just as bad of a liar as I am."_

April couldn't stop smiling. They were having a decent conversation that didn't include their typical banters. And Alex missed her. She was sure he would retreat back to hiding his feelings again and pretend nothing happened between them. "Of course I miss you. I miss everybody in Seattle, but you know why I miss you."

_Alex rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Dammit, I shouldn't have left early. I'm such a freaking screw up. You deserve better than my crap."_

"But that's the thing, I don't think I do. And despite the whole distance factor, you're the only person I trust with my kids, so… I don't mind trying," she confessed. "And you're not a bad guy, Alex. Yes, you do some stupid crap sometimes, but there's a lot of good in you. That's why I care."

_"So, uhh… what are you wearing right now?"_

She nearly choked on her dinner when she laughed. "Are you… are you trying to talk dirty to me?"

_"Get your mind out of the gutter, April," he quipped. "Unless, you're naked-"_

"I'm eating dinner, Alex."

_"Naked?"_

"Whose mind's in the gutter now?"

_Alex chuckled. "You started it by turning my harmless question into something dirty," he argued. "I just wanted to know what you were wearing since I can't see you right now."_

April set her fork down as she looked at her clothes. "Well, if you must know, I'm wearing a red blouse and black pants. And don't you dare ask me to take them off," she jokingly warned him.

_He smiled trying to visualize her outfit. "Is your hair up or down?"_

"It's down," she shyly replied and bit down on her lower lip. "Are we actually having a conversation usually reserved for couples?"

_"I have no freakin' clue. Do sappy couples talk about what the other person's wearing a lot?" He scratched his head and scrunched his nose. Normally, he never did the sweet talk thing because it wasn't him. He usually poked fun at couples who were all fluff and nothing else. "We're not gonna start talking about rainbows and butterflies, are we? You're not imagining us holding hands and skipping through fields full of flowers, right?"_

She shook her head and laughed. "What are you? Five? I think your chat with Zola is beginning to get to you," she teased. "We can talk about whatever you want as long as it's not about farting or anything disgusting. I'm still eating."

_"Fine, whatever."_

And they talked for at least two hours – without one argument erupting. Alex forced himself to hang up when Arizona and Callie returned from their date. While he continued to refuse to tell them who his secret woman was, that didn't stop them from hounding him with numerous questions. He had a tight grip on his cell phone to prevent one of them from checking his call history.

When he managed to escape he drove to his home, passing by April's old house for the first time in weeks. It didn't bother him as much because they were a thing… sort of. They agreed to figure it all out when he was in Palo Alto again.

* * *

**Thoughts? :) Btw, the school Jordan goes to is real, but I don't want to give away its name lol (No, I didn't go there, but I do know people who did).**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks again for the reviews! So glad Grey's is back and I love that the show won't interfere with my AK2 writing mojo... although that also somewhat bums me out lol. Anyway, for anyone who's also reading my Japril story, I haven't abandoned it. Just taking a short break from it this week. So I hope you'll like this installment and let me know what you think please ;)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Throughout the month of September, April and Alex chatted as much as possible via phone call, text or Skype – whatever they could do, so they didn't feel too distant from each other. They avoided having their conversations at work, especially Alex. His coworkers were some of the nosiest people alive and he knew better than to let his relationship – sort of relationship – with the trauma surgeon be known to them. Not having gone out on a single date, they couldn't consider themselves at dating status yet. And both of them were apprehensive about being out in the open together because of their close connections to Jackson. She didn't want to be seen as that woman who quickly jumped on his best friend, while he thought he would look like a dick for moving in on his best friend's wife.

And April wasn't fully prepared to explain to Jordan and Cameron that she was kind of seeing their favorite uncle. As much as they loved Alex, she couldn't guess their reactions and if they would understand what was happening. On the bright side, her oldest son was no longer upset with the peds surgeon after he learned Alex would be visiting them for his birthday in October. She decided to delay that conversation until she and Alex completely figured out what they were to each other.

She did feel guilty about keeping Alice out of the loop about everything. She was used to telling her baby sister almost every detail about her life, but she purposely left out anything about Alex – unless, it was work related – when they spoke on the phone or chatted on Skype. Nobody had a safe pass if they worked at Seattle Grace. And Alice was dating Shane. No way her boyfriend would keep it a secret. He was the only male April knew of who enjoyed gossip.

Then, there was Samantha. Her sister-in-law was always in her business, trying to dig out anything personal about her. Perhaps she simply wanted to know how she was coping with losing Jackson because they rarely talked about it, though she recalled the cardio surgeon being absolutely devastated when her baby brother died. She actually showed emotion at the funeral, which surprised April. Samantha Avery was like Jackson – both of them had the tendency to bury their problems inside of their heads and pretend nothing was wrong. Plus, she couldn't talk to her about Alex. Based on their brief interactions over the years, Samantha wasn't his biggest fan due to his douchey attitude. Finding out she moved on to her husband's best friend would not bode well for either of them.

It was a slow day in the ER, but April wasn't complaining. Ever since Karen returned home to Moline, she had been taking care of the boys alone. Outside of work and being a mother, she didn't have time for anything else. Her bed time was about the same as her kids. As soon as they were asleep, she went straight to bed. The single mother life was exhausting.

She stood by the nurses' station with her head resting against her arm. The day wasn't halfway through, but all she wanted to do was sleep. Cameron kept her up throughout most of the previous night because he was having nightmares. Who knew a cartoon with talking vegetables could give a kid nightmares?

April's eyelids slowly closed shut, trying to sneak in a few snoozes before the next trauma came rushing in. She was thankful to be in charge of her department because the only person who could scold her for sleeping was the Chief of Surgery and he rarely showed his presence in the ER.

"You're drooling, Avery," a familiar voice teased her. She opened her eyes to see Alex standing in front of her, which was a surprise because she hadn't been expecting him until the day before Jordan's birthday. Instead, he was two days early.

"Alex," she gasped, quickly standing up and adjusting her lab coat. The redhead smiled, excited to see him. If she didn't care about professionalism, she would have pounced on him right there in front of everybody. "I thought you were coming tomorrow."

"I was able to get an extra day off," Alex replied, grinning back at her. He had never felt so giddy to see April and that spoke volumes of how much their friendship had grown over the years. When they were residents he wouldn't have gone out of his way to visit her a day early. "Are you free?"

April nodded. "I suppose I can take my lunch break a little early. I'm actually starving. Oh, I know a neat sandwich place where I can bring you. It's on the college campus," she answered, then she began walking away. "Wait for me here. I'll just get my stuff."

"Cool." He softly laughed at how her ponytail swayed back and forth because of the slight bounce in her step. His presence certainly woke her up.

She brought him to Ike's Place, a quirky sandwich shop located in the Engineering building on the Stanford campus. All of the sandwiches were named after famous people, places, TV shows and unique phrases. Alex went for the Ménage À Trois. He couldn't pass up a sandwich named after a threesome and it turned out to be a pretty damn good choice.

"Why can't they open a shop up in Seattle?" he whined. "I feel like I need to try as many sandwiches as possible before I leave. We definitely need to buy some to go after we eat."

"I knew you'd enjoy eating here," she chirped. "You know, Jordan's going to be so excited to see you. Maybe you should surprise him by picking him up from school."

"Sure, I can do that. Just tell me where this preppy school is." Alex had given her grief for taking Samantha's advice and putting Jordan in a private school. He hoped the 5-year old wouldn't grow up to become arrogant like his two aunts because he was somewhat privileged. "How's he liking the place?"

"He's been enjoying it, has a lot of friends. You'll meet most of them on Saturday at his birthday party."

"Will their rich and snobby parents be there too?"

April sighed. "Not all of them are snobby, Alex. Besides, one of them works at the children's hospital. Maybe you two can mingle and you can brag about your Africa project that's still going strong," she suggested. "They're really into special projects over there. Who knows? They might want you to expand it to Stanford."

Alex shrugged. He personally didn't want his visit to mostly consist of anything work related. There was a reason why he chose to arrive early. Libby's family and Karen would be staying at April's house starting Friday. Alice would be arriving on Saturday, so it was going to be a loud and busy home. Kimmie couldn't pull out of her Broadway production, which made for one less Kepner to deal with. At least he and April could have some decent privacy before they all showed up.

"I came here to see you, so let's freaking take advantage of that," he bluntly said. "I want to take you out to dinner or whatever. Do the dating thing and stuff."

"You have such a romantic way of asking me out," she quipped. "Tomorrow night? It's probably the best shot we have at having a date without anybody suspecting it's a date. I have a list of babysitters I can call."

He nodded in approval. "Sounds good," he replied before smirking at her. "Gonna give me a tour of the hospital? For example, the on-call rooms?"

She playfully slapped his bicep and laughed. "That's so residency years," she scoffed. "And a little bit of the fellowship years."

Alex snickered as he leaned close to April's cheek. "I'm not the one who sent a text last night about testing out the on-call room," he whispered with a mischievous grin on his face. "It was your idea, remember?"

"Shh! That was my lame attempt to talk dirty," April sheepishly answered, ducking her head to hide her blushing cheeks. "Besides, I imagined our… _first_ _time_… to be somewhere more comfortable. And anyway, you and me in an on-call room brings back awful memories."

"So, what? You want freaking rose petals on your bed or something?" He laughed when she rolled her eyes at him. "I'm sorry, but do you have any idea how long it's been since I screwed? It feels like I unintentionally practiced abstinence."

April was caught off-guard by his comment and covered her mouth as she fought back a laugh. She was shocked that Alex hadn't slept with anybody since… well, she wasn't keeping track of his sex record, but she didn't expect him to hold off on it this whole time. Even though he had feelings for her, she assumed he slept around to get over her after he fled.

"Umm, how long have you gone without sex?" she asked curiously.

"Since… March?" he muttered, visibly embarrassed. He furrowed his eyebrows when her mouth dropped open. It was like breaking news for her that he hadn't slept with anybody for more than half a year. "I don't want to be the guy who sleeps around anymore, alright?"

She grabbed his hand, softly smiling at him. "And I'm completely okay with that," she said before kissing his cheek. "I'm actually glad you haven't been sleeping with anybody. That makes me feel better about us."

He gently stroked her chin as he leaned forward and kissed her lips. "You're worth the wait. Just don't make me wait too long later. I'm still a dude with urges, you know," the peds surgeon reminded her, making her laugh.

* * *

Alex waited for Jordan's class to be dismissed outside of his classroom. It still baffled him that April would spend over $20,000 for freaking Kindergarten. But it was her kid and her decision… sort of. The pressure of being an Avery. She had to please her in-laws since Jackson's death continued to remain a sensitive topic. He knew Samantha still intimidated April in many ways. Although, her intimidation was the cardio surgeon's way of showing she cared.

Tiny humans began trickling out of the classroom in their uniforms. Jordan walked out in his white polo shirt and navy blue pants with his orange lunch box in one hand and his maroon sweatshirt hanging over his shoulder, along with his backpack. He searched for April, but he grinned widely – showing off the small hole in the top front row of his teeth from his first tooth falling out – when he saw Alex and ran towards his godfather.

"Uncle Alex!" he excitedly shrieked.

"Hey, buddy!" the peds surgeon greeted him, picking the 5-year old up and hugging him tightly. "What happened to your tooth?"

"It fell off, but Mommy told me to leave it under my pillow for the Tooth Fairy and I gots a dollar!" Jordan enthusiastically said and pointed at the gap in his teeth. "I'm gonna be rich by the time my last tooth comes out!"

Alex couldn't help but laugh because Jordan's lisp was more prominent with one of his two front teeth missing. He sincerely missed his smiling face and he loved that he was thrilled to see his favorite uncle. "How was school today?" he asked, carrying him to the parking lot and to his rental car. "Learn anything out of the ordinary?"

"Did ya know there are 17 different species of penguin in the whole world?"

"You learned that today in school?" the older man asked, staring at Jordan with a puzzled expression on his face.

"My teacher didn't tell us that. My friend Carter did," he answered with a giggle. "Today I learned how to add big numbers with little numbers. Did ya know nine plus ten is nineteen?"

"I did know that. Maybe I'll quiz you later. I bet your mom will be proud." Alex was aware of the fact that April had a thing for numbers and statistics. The nerd in her loved math. Clearly, her son picked it up from her too. "Pretty soon, you'll be adding things like 157 plus 5,328 in five seconds."

Jordan laughed, covering his mouth. "That's too many numbers, Uncle Alex."

On the drive home to April's house, the eldest Avery boy went off on a tangent of "Did ya know…" questions, stating every random fact he learned from school in his head. Some of them Alex already knew, some of them he surprisingly didn't. He thought maybe he should have paid more attention in grade school, despite spending a little bit of that time in juvenile hall.

Cameron and Logan were still at the daycare center at the hospital, so they would be coming home with the trauma surgeon. She decided to let her boyfriend – sort of boyfriend – off the hook by having him watch Jordan alone. The downside of being at home? April decided to test Alex's cooking skills, or lack thereof. He was in charge of dinner and she expected to have something to eat by the time she arrived home.

So Alex made a quick pit stop to the grocery store and bought an extra large premade pizza crust, tomato sauce and various toppings to make a pizza for dinner. He easily could have ordered a pizza from a restaurant, but he wanted to prove he could take care of them without being lazy. And he knew how to work an oven better than cooking on the stovetop. He also had Jordan as his little assistant. Perfect opportunity to bond more.

"I like the green peppers more than the red ones," Jordan said as he neatly placed slices of green bell peppers on the pizza. He set them carefully on the sauce and cheese covered crust, so they were distributed evenly – a quirky organization skill he inherited from his mother. He stood on a small stool in order to reach over the island counter. "I think we need more pepp-roni. I like those too."

"You got it, little dude," Alex replied, adding more pepperoni onto their pizza. There were also mushrooms and small pieces of olives on it. He sprinkled more cheese over the toppings. "You can never have enough cheese."

"Yeah! Lots and lots of cheese!"

He chuckled as the young boy grabbed a handful of mozzarella cheese and threw it onto their pizza. "I think your mom's gonna love eating the pizza you made. Are you helpful around the house since your Grandma Karen went home to Ohio?"

Jordan nodded. "Uh huh! I help her put the dishes in the dishwasher and I clean up my toys in my room," he proudly said. "Mommy's too tired from work to clean everything and I'm the man of the house."

"Man of the house. Of course you are. I bet you take good care of your brothers too." Alex had a feeling he was going to rock the boat with his next question. "Even though your dad will always be your dad, what if uhh… your mom married someone else and he became your new dad?"

"He would take Daddy's place?" he asked, visibly confused.

"Uhh, sort of. Not really, though," Alex reluctantly answered. "So, umm… you would have a new dad, but he won't ever replace your real one. Know what I mean?"

"Kinda, but what if I don't like him? What if he's a meanie or he doesn't like soccer or doesn't like playing with me? Would he still be my daddy?" Jordan scrunched his nose as he gazed up at Alex. "Or what if he smells funny?"

Alex softly laughed. He wasn't the most pleasant smelling guy, but at least he didn't smell like crap. "I highly doubt your mom will marry a guy who smells funny. She eventually wants you and your brothers to have a father figure in your lives and she also wants to be happy, like the way your dad made her happy."

"Would I have to call him Daddy too?"

That was a tough question. He cleared his throat, unsure of how to answer it. It didn't help that the word Daddy was used unconventionally in the past when he was with women. If he were to become the kids' new father, would April want them to call him that? He sure as hell wouldn't be Uncle Alex anymore. Daddy Alex? That didn't sound right at all. He could understand Logan calling him Daddy since he never had the chance to say it to Jackson, but Jordan and Cameron would be a different story.

Suddenly, everything felt complicated again.

* * *

April arrived home with Cameron and Logan a little after seven. She took off early, leaving her friend Nico in charge of the ER for the rest of the night. She would only return to the hospital if a major trauma that acquired everybody on board showed up. The house remained intact, so she confirmed to herself that Alex didn't burn it down. Walking into the kitchen with Logan hoisted against her waist and Cameron trailing behind, she found Alex and Jordan staring at the oven as they counted down the seconds before their pizza was finished baking.

Nothing smelled burnt, which meant good news for everyone in the house. The oven buzzer went off and Jordan began jumping up and down excitedly.

"It's done! It's done!" he cheered.

"Alright, buddy. You gotta move out of the way now because the tray's going to be really hot," Alex warned the 5-year old. He put on April's pink oven mitts before he opened the oven door. After pulling out the tray, he turned to see the redhead watching him with a smile on her face. He showed off their newly baked pizza as he set it on the island counter. "Look, I made dinner and it didn't burn. I'm also 99% positive it'll taste good."

Jordan stood on his tip toes as he gripped the edges of the counter in order to take a peek at the pizza he helped make. "I helped too, Mommy!"

"Aww, I'm confident it'll taste really good then," April chirped.

Cameron pointed at Alex. "Dat's Uncle Al'x," he softly said, shyly smiling at him while he waved.

"Yeah, I told you he was visiting, remember?" She gently pushed her middle child forward. "Go give him a hug, Cam."

The 3-year old ran around the counter and hugged Alex's leg. The peds surgeon picked him up and playfully pinched Cameron's nose with the oven mitt, making him laugh. "I hope you're hungry, dude. This is probably the best pizza you'll ever eat," he bragged, grinning at April.

April chuckled as she waved at Jordan. "Okay, you know the drill, boys. Go wash your hands before dinner," she instructed. "Remember not to play with the soap dispenser, Cam."

Alex set Cameron on the floor. He watched the two Avery boys run out of the kitchen, then he raised his hands in front of his chest to show April her pink oven mitts. "Really? No red or blue mitts? Thank you for not taking a freaking picture of me with these on," he quipped.

"I don't know. Pink's a nice color on you," she teased, walking around the counter and kissing his cheek. "Real men wear pink anyway."

"Whatever. That's a myth." He tickled Logan's cheek with the oven mitt and listened to him giggle. "Hungry?"

"Starving," April groaned, bouncing her baby boy in her arms.

She placed Logan in his high chair before setting the dining table. By then, her two other sons returned from the bathroom and took their places at the table. Cameron needed a booster seat, while Jordan took pride in not needing one. Alex cut the pizza into slices and brought it to the table.

As usual, April made sure they all prayed before dinner. Although Alex lacked interest in praying and religion in general, he always went along with it to avoid any nagging lectures from her. Another possible complication – being forced to attend Sunday mass with her and the children. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for him. Going to church isn't full-fledged torture compared to getting shot and nearly bleeding out in an elevator. If he wanted to make it work with her, he needed to be more open about her religious beliefs even if he barely had any.

He also tried to make an effort in cleaning up after himself. After completing their pizza, he wiped the island counter and threw away any bits of crumb or cheese that landed on the floor. Alex was relieved that April hadn't mentioned anything about the kitchen appearing messy, which meant he did a good job.

And he was freaking proud of the pizza he and Jordan made. It turned out better than he expected. April seemed to genuinely enjoy their dinner, even cutting up pieces for Logan. Had it tasted awful, she definitely wouldn't have fed her youngest boy crappy pizza. Throughout dinner, Jordan talked nonstop about how his day went at school. He once again rambled with his "Did ya know…" facts and his mother smiled and nodded at everything coming out of his charming mouth.

Following dinner, it was time for a bath. All three Avery boys were at the age when they could take a bath together, so Alex decided he would handle it for April and let her relax. He didn't realize it was more complex than he anticipated. Logan continuously splashed water with his hands, resulting in Cameron screaming loudly because the soapy water got into his eyes. And Jordan thought it would be hilarious to splatter water on his godfather. How did April keep them in check? He had no idea, but he admired her even more for it.

He helped Jordan get ready for bed, ensuring he brushed every single tooth and did the same routine with Cameron. After tucking both of them in, he searched for April. She was in Logan's nursery, rocking him to sleep. He watched her from the doorway until she placed her son inside of his crib. She switched on the baby monitor, then she turned around and nearly yelped at the sight of Alex waiting for her.

"You scared me," she whispered, approaching him and turning off the light in Logan's nursery. Taking Alex's hand, she smiled as she led him into her bedroom. "Everything's cleaned up downstairs, so we're free to do anything now."

The moment he had been waiting for arrived. He closed the door behind him, locking it to prevent an accidental walk in if Jordan or Cameron were to wake up and interrupt. Their kiss was more passionate compared to the simple kiss he gave her during lunch. They finally had their privacy, free from worrying about what anybody would think if they were seen together romantically. Sloppily grabbing at each other's clothes, both of them were impatient. It had been months since either of them last had sex.

But ten minutes later…

"Maybe you're thinking too much, Alex," April suggested as she lay on her back, covering herself up with her blanket.

Alex was sitting up beside her, his arms resting against his knees and feeling defeated. If she hadn't been in the bedroom with him, he would have been giving Little Karev a pep talk. And he thought _she_ would be more hesitant about having sex. That wasn't the case.

"I'm not even 40 yet and I'm having erectile dysfunction," he muttered. "And it's not the first time this happened. It happened with Izzie too during intern year. I don't know what's freaking wrong with me. But if it's a health issue now-"

"Like I said, you could be thinking too much about… performing. I mean, I understand that it's been a long time since you've had sex, but it's possible it's all psychological." She sat up, scooting closer to him and gently placing her chin against his shoulder. "So talk to me. What are you thinking about?"

"A lot of things," he answered, grimacing. "What if the kids hear us?"

April softly laughed. "They won't. Trust me."

"Or what if one of them knocks?"

"Then, I'll handle it. Don't worry about them right now," she assured him, caressing his chest with her hand. The trauma surgeon planted kisses along his shoulder and towards his neck. "You're paranoid about having sex with kids nearby, but uhh… you had plenty of one night stands when we lived at Meredith's and you didn't seem to have a problem with Zola being around."

Alex snickered. "But she slowly started killing my game. Why do you think I moved out?" He turned his head to look at her. "That kissing thing you're doing right now, it's pretty hot."

"Well, is it working?"

He responded by practically jumping on her, making her giggle as she collapsed back onto the bed. His worries evaporated after briefly opening up about what he was thinking. She was always good at that, reading him and figuring out his problems without him saying much. Even though he used to hate it when she read his mind, he appreciated it now. Mainly because he was terrible at expressing his feelings.

Perhaps April was right all along, that his inability to perform was psychological because Little Karev eventually cooperated with him. And the heavy panting afterwards, proved he hadn't lost a beat – in his mind, anyway.

She softly laughed, gasping for air at the same time while she lay her head on his chest. He wrapped his arm around her waist, smiling to himself and mentally patting himself on the back for a job well done.

"That was… freaking incredible," he blurted out, lightly rubbing her side with his fingertips. "I should've listened to you when you asked me to slow down in the on-call room."

"Yeah, right. You were too horny to care about what I wanted," she scoffed. "I was different then. However, I'll agree with you. This _was_ freaking incredible."

Alex smugly grinned. "I never disappoint," he gloated.

April playfully rolled her eyes as she glanced up at him. "Still arrogant as hell, I see."

"Whatever. You dig it," he replied nonchalantly. The entire bedroom was silent for a minute with the exception of their breathing sounds. "So, uhh… is this the part where we try to talk about us? You know, get all deep with our feelings or whatever you prefer?"

"Why?" she asked, turning over onto her stomach and facing him. "Do you want to talk about anything?"

He thought maybe he shouldn't have suggested they talk because he was tired and she likely was too, but she appeared awake and alert for somebody who almost fell asleep on the job. "We're exclusive now, right? No screwing other people behind each other's backs?"

She slowly nodded. "That's what I want. Is that what _you_ want?"

"I want to be with you. Forget what Meredith said before and who cares about what other people think?" he confidently said. "The only people whose opinions matter to me are yours and the boys. I don't want Jordan to assume everything has to be different because I'm banging his mom."

The redhead smirked at him. "I hope you'll rephrase that last part when the time comes to explain to Jordan that you and I are dating each other now." Her face slightly dropped. "I do worry a little, though… Avery's reacting to us…"

"What are they gonna do? They don't run your life, April, and they can't freaking start now just because Jackson-" He stopped himself. Mentioning Jackson after having sex with his wife didn't help ease any guilt that arose in his mind. "Shit. Why did I say his name?"

"It's… it's okay, Alex. If anybody has to worry, it's me," she insisted, biting down on her lower lip. "Please don't feel guilty. I don't want you to feel that way at all. I'm happy, so try not to think of the negatives and be happy with me."

It had been a long time since Alex felt happy. Tons of heartbreak haunted him over the years and it made him careful about who to trust. But if he could truly trust someone, it was April. He trusted her more than anyone else. And he had a solid relationship with her children. He was the happiest when he was with her. No one had made him feel that way since… Izzie. Not even Jo gave him the mushy feelings he was embarrassed to admit he was having.

"I _am_ happy," he answered, smiling back at her. "Being here makes me happy. No bullshit."

April curled up against his side, closing her eyes to get some much deserved rest. "Only you can make 'No bullshit' sound romantic enough," she teased.

* * *

Because Jordan's sixth birthday occurred on a weekday, the real celebration happened that following Saturday. Having his birthday party at Pump It Up was necessary. He was a hyper boy, so April thought it was best for him to unleash his energy on a bunch of inflatable obstacle courses and bounce houses. Most of her family was in town to help keep an eye on him and his friends. Even Samantha made an appearance at the party. Alex was forced to ride the giant inflatable slide with Cameron, who wouldn't go down alone without assistance. It was fun the first time… and the second time… then it got old for him by the tenth time. Fortunately, one of Libby's now-teenaged twins took his place.

"Alex sure looked like he wanted to shoot himself after the fifth time," Alice quipped.

"Yeah, but at least Cam broke out of his shell again," April pointed out. "He always opens up more when Alex is around."

Alice smirked at her sister. "Maybe you should marry him." The redhead rolled her eyes in response. "I'm just saying, he's always been helpful with the boys and that's not a bad thing at all."

"So how are you and Shane?" April asked, changing the subject.

"We're great. The other day, he took me out to dinner and asked me to move in with him," she proudly announced. "Oh, and I said yes."

"You don't think that's too soon?" The trauma surgeon looked at her baby sister concerned. "You two only started dating about five months ago."

Alice playfully pointed at Libby, who stood beside them. "Ahem, hello? Libby married Carl after knowing him for five months. We're just moving in together. No ring on this finger… yet."

Libby showed off the rings on her left finger. "And we're still going strong, so it's not like I made a mistake," she noted, smiling at the two Kepner's. "When will I meet this Shane guy? Based on the pictures I've seen of him, I think you finally made a wise choice with your man."

"And she did. Shane's a gentleman," April assured her.

"What about you, Apes? Any guys you're hiding from us?" Alice teased.

April shyly shook her head. "No. That hasn't been my focus lately. Too busy with work and the kids," she lied as her eyes drifted off to Alex, who was taking a break on a chair nearby.

Trying to hold herself back from doing anything intimate with Alex was extremely difficult for her. With her family staying at her house, they barely made any physical contact with each other.

On the day before Jordan's birthday, they were able to go out on their first date. He brought her to Pampas, a Brazilian restaurant that served food rodizio style. Unlimited meat plus an unlimited salad bar? The peds surgeon was impressed by how much his new girlfriend ate. He expected her to exclusively indulge at the salad bar, but she was adventurous, even eating a couple of chicken hearts. He wasn't sure how they found room to split a white chocolate cheesecake, but it was a successful date overall. And what happened afterwards at home… well, she continued to surprise him with her boldness.

They weren't ready to tell anybody about their relationship. It was very new and they wanted to put the long distance to the test. Sure, it felt easy now because they were in the same state, but once Alex returned to Seattle that was when it would become hard again. April already arranged plans to fly up to Seattle for Thanksgiving, so a month apart wasn't too dreadful.

She excused herself from chatting with her sisters and approached Alex. The man was sweating after climbing up the giant slide numerous times. He wasn't nearly as fit as he was in the past. He blamed his work hours for preventing him from hitting the gym as often as he used to.

"Tired already? It's only been an hour," April said, glancing down at her watch.

"Freaking kids, I swear. They're little energy bunnies who suck the life out of you," he replied, shaking his head. Alex pulled out a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "And I thought you gave me a workout."

"Shh! What if somebody heard you?" she whispered.

Alex chuckled. "Whatever. It's true," he casually replied, sneaking in a gentle pat against her rear end.

From the other side of the room, Samantha caught the suspicious gesture and raised her eyebrow curiously. As soon as April's family and Alex left town, she planned on having a private chat with her sister-in-law.

* * *

**btw, Ike's is freaking amazing. If you're ever in SF, check it out!**


	10. Chapter 10

**So the more I think about it the more disappointed I am in S9 Alex. Instead of exploring his family background again, his only SL is moping over a female version of himself. And a blogger on SpoilerTV suggested putting AK2 together since April doesn't have much going for her either. The writers are totally wasting away Japril's potential this season (and Alex in general). Ugh, lol. Oh, well.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Samantha Avery was a wise woman. Arrogant, but wiser than many of her colleagues believed. She silently observed people's actions without them noticing. Reading their actions based on their body language was her specialty. Sometimes she called them out for it, sometimes she kept her opinions to herself. But when family was involved she never held herself back.

She didn't want to confront April about her potential relationship with Alex out in the open. A private office meeting would be too nerve wracking for the trauma surgeon. Samantha was aware of how uncomfortable her sister-in-law could get when she was alone with her. She wanted to ease into the conversation slowly when she least expected it.

The perfect opportunity came when a patient was rushed into the ER following a near fatal car accident off of the 101 freeway that morning. A young man suffered from a pneumothorax, a kidney contusion and a ruptured spleen. Because the case was April's, she needed assistance with cardio and paged Samantha to help her. Of course she agreed to operate with her. An Avery rarely turned down an Avery.

They would be spending at least a few hours in the OR. Samantha wanted to wait until their patient was stable before mentioning what she saw at Jordan's birthday party. She also loved the fact that April couldn't set her instruments down and simply walk away from her, so she would be forced to answer her. Whether or not there was a romantic relationship between her and Alex, the cardio surgeon just wanted to hear the truth.

"How's it going down there, Dr. Avery?" Samantha inquired while her eyes focused on the damaged lung.

"Kidney's been removed, but I think I may be able to salvage the spleen," April reported. "The tears appear relatively minor, so I should be able to repair them instead of removing it completely. How's the lung?"

"I've worked on more complex pneumothorax injuries," she gloated. "My work is almost finished here."

April slowly nodded. "That's great." She looked up at one of her residents. "Dr. Bryant, were you able to get a hold of Terrence's parents before you scrubbed in?"

"Yes, Dr. Avery. They should either be on their way or already waiting in the lobby," the young woman standing across from her answered.

"Why don't you go downstairs to the lobby and check, please?" Samantha suggested. "If they're already here, tell them their son sustained a collapsed lung, which I was able to repair, a kidney contusion that forced us to remove the organ completely and a splenic rupture that Dr. Avery is currently fixing. And if the mother begins to freak out, remember to ensure her that he will be fine. He has Avery's taking care of him."

April couldn't help but roll her eyes at the last comment. She never believed the Avery's were the only great surgeons at their hospital. Stanford was Stanford, one of the top programs in the nation, maybe even in the world. She felt almost every attending she worked with was considered the best in their specialty. Her school carpool buddy, Neil, was an excellent neurosurgeon. Maybe not as great as Derek Shepherd, but he won awards to prove his credibility. But since he wasn't an Avery he didn't receive as much credit as Samantha's husband David, who was also the Head of Neurosurgery.

She constantly promised herself she would never grow into an arrogant surgeon. Bragging about her accomplishments in medical school and residency was one thing, but she was nowhere near the level of Samantha's arrogance. The one time she called her out for it was during their first meeting. She had been testing the younger surgeon to see if she was good enough for her baby brother. April passed, though she felt embarrassed for yelling at her future sister-in-law in public. There wasn't much she could do about it, though. Samantha's conceited behavior was a part of her personality. Considering the redhead never wanted people to change her, she certainly wasn't going to be a hypocrite and ask others to.

"You know who may possibly be interested in you? Drake Henson," Samantha casually implied.

"From Urology?" April asked, raising her eyebrow at the cardio surgeon.

"Mmhmm," she hummed. "My mother's close friends with him. She can guarantee you that he's a decent man to date. He's a man who loves children as well."

April grimaced behind her surgical mask. "I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to date anybody yet."

"But you can date Alex Karev? That man is no good for you, dear," the elder Avery replied nonchalantly.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I… _saw_ something that appeared very suspicious at little Jordan's birthday party. Do all of your male friends smack your behind?" Samantha noticed another resident staring at them curiously. "Private conversation, Dr. Willard. Mind your own business."

April cleared her throat as she stared at the spleen she was repairing. "We're just friends. Alex has always been a pig. He doesn't have boundaries. Not to mention he's pretty much a pervert." She glanced up at her sister-in-law. "What you saw was a misunderstanding. He… he did that when I lived in Seattle too – and with our other coworkers."

"And nobody reported sexual harassment?"

"Oh, no! No, it's not like that," she assured her. "He only does that with our close friends. They're used to it. They don't care. Besides, Alex is a better person than you assume. He was a major help with the kids after Jackson died."

"From what I remember, he lacked manners. And he's always bitter about something," Samantha recalled.

April sighed, looking back down at her patient. "He had a rough life. He's been through a lot, so you should cut him some slack. I'm just saying, if you knew him on a personal level, you would understand why Alex acts the way he does," she explained defensively. "Actually, he can be a decent guy when he's not moody. I never expected he and Jackson to become best friends like they were. They hated each other when Seattle Grace and Mercy West merged."

"Ah, yes. Jackson once told me Alex was married. His wife had cancer, then she left him." She softly laughed. "Why am I not surprised?"

"He wasn't the reason why she left him," she retorted. Even though Izzie was one of her best friends now, she always thought it was crappy of her to leave Alex the way she did. "None of it was his fault. I barely just started working at Seattle Grace when it happened, but he was apparently a good husband."

"Is that why you're dating him now?"

The trauma surgeon groaned. "We're not dating. We have a close friendship for a variety of reasons, but that's it." She quickly shrugged her shoulders. "He wouldn't be an awful choice to act as a father for my sons, especially Jordan. They've always been close."

Samantha slowly shook her head. "You deserve better than him, April. You need someone at Jackson's level."

"Jackson's _level_?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I know Alex wasn't raised privileged like your family was, but comparing him to Jackson is like comparing apples and oranges. They're not the same."

"But one is much more respected than the other," Samantha argued. "Sure, Karev has that… _Africa thing_, but what he's done hardly compares to Jackson's breakthrough research on energy-based, noninvasive surgical tools for cosmetic surgery. Now that's Harper Avery Award material."

April frowned. "Well, he won't be winning it anytime soon," she mumbled to herself.

Samantha's eyes darted towards the widow, whose own eyes appeared glossy. She instantly felt guilty about bringing up Jackson, especially when April was trying her best to focus on saving their patient. "I'm sorry, Dr. Avery. I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's fine," she softly said. "Anything about Jackson typically strikes a nerve."

"I understand. His death continues to bother me as well," she sullenly replied. "He was still so young-"

"Can we not discuss him while I have an open patient on the table, please?" April blinked her eyes a few times to prevent her tears from falling out. There were two things she was pissed at Samantha for – bringing up Jackson in the OR and insulting Alex. She wasn't sure if she was able to convince her sister-in-law that she and the peds surgeon weren't together, but the only conversation she wanted to continue was medically centered. "More suction please, Dr. Willard."

* * *

Alex entered the attendings lounge whistling a random tune that popped up in his head. He walked towards the counter to pour himself a cup of coffee, ignoring the presence of his coworkers inside with him. Since returning from Palo Alto three days ago, he had been in a bright and shiny mood. Of course, nobody knew why, but they were all dying to find out what happened to him.

"Maybe he's a pod person," Cristina suggested, shaking her head as she ate her lunch. "This Karev scares me."

"Who is it, Alex?" Meredith inquired with a grin on her face. "Who's the lucky woman?"

"Unlucky, you mean," the cardio surgeon quipped.

The peds surgeon turned around sipping his coffee as he leaned back against the counter. "Even Yang's dumbass comments can't ruin my mojo," he countered, smirking at his coworkers. "And there's no freaking woman."

Cristina laughed out loud. "Oh, please. The only times you're ever this happy are when it's spaghetti day in the cafeteria or you're getting laid," she scoffed. "I'm leaning towards the latter, so whose vagina did you corrupt this time?"

Meredith covered her mouth to prevent spitting out her food. "You're cruel," she mumbled with a mouthful of salad. Looking back at Alex, she grew even more curious because he hadn't stopped smiling, despite Cristina's joke. "Just tell us. We're going to find out eventually."

"What? A dude can't be happy for the hell of it?" he replied with a shrug.

"Not when it's you, Evil Spawn," Cristina answered, pointing her fork at him. "Did April's perkiness rub off on you? What the hell's in the water in the Bay Area? When I flew down there for my Stanford interview I swear, the people there were more cheerful there than here. Maybe it's all of the sunlight they get in California. We're like freakin' vampires in Seattle."

Meredith began to wonder – was his new attitude because of April? It would make sense since she was the only person who was aware of his feelings for her. She realized it wouldn't be a surprise if they were together now.

"Speaking of April, how is she?" she asked, trying not to sound suspicious.

"She's fine, I guess. Looks the same," Alex said, unbothered by her question. "Jordan lost a tooth. He was stoked about that. I surprised him with his first bike on his birthday. He was excited about that too. Oh, and Cam can read his Dr. Seuss books by himself now. He's not four years old yet and he's freaking reading. He's like a mini Einstein. And Logan finally got over his clingy phase. He runs around and gets all pissy when you pick him up. It's funny as hell."

Meredith softly chuckled at her friend. He sounded like a father who was proud of his children's accomplishments. That didn't necessarily mean he was dating April because he had always been close to the Avery boys. She needed to fish out more information from him.

"Sounds adorable. Is April seeing anybody?"

Alex sipped his coffee before he spoke again. "No. She's got her hands full with the kids and work. She'll be here for Thanksgiving, so you can interrogate her then."

Kevin entered the lounge appearing just as jolly as Alex. Cristina couldn't help herself. "You too? Oh my God, are you Karev's secret woman? Both of you are flaunting the same perky smiles. It's disturbing."

"What?" The trauma surgeon stood beside his colleague, playfully nudging him with his elbow. "You're seeing someone?"

"No, I'm not. These two hags are just trying to start crap over nothing," Alex insisted.

Meredith smiled at Kevin. "Alright, we'll leave him alone for a minute. What's going on with you, Banks?"

"Okay, but keep it a secret for now. Jo might kill me for spreading this too soon, but she's six weeks pregnant," the blonde attending announced with a wide grin.

"That's wonderful news! Congratulations," Meredith happily replied.

Cristina offered her own congrats, though with her typical sarcastic tone. Alex, on the other hand, the smile on his face slowly wore off. He wanted to be happy for his former roommate, but thoughts of Jo always reminded him of their crappy break up.

"That's uhh… cool, dude. Congrats," he unenthusiastically said, drinking his coffee again to partially hide his face with his mug. After finishing it, he set the mug in the sink like he always did instead of washing it and headed for the door. "I gotta check up on my transplant kid."

Strolling down the hallway and into an elevator, his infamous Karev scowl returned. He hoped he wouldn't bump into Jo for the rest of the day, but that would be difficult considering she chose Pediatric Surgery for her specialty. His cell phone vibrated in his lab coat pocket and pulled it out. He received a text message from April.

_CALL ME ASAP!_

All caps and exclamation points meant it was urgent. Alex stepped out of the elevator when the doors opened and found an empty on-call room for privacy. He plopped down on the bed as he called April on his cell phone. Whatever was bothering her seemed important because she answered him with a panicked tone in her voice.

"April, what's wrong?" he asked concerned. "Are you alone?"

"_I locked myself in my office," she murmured. April was curled up in the farthest corner away from her locked door. "I was operating with Samantha and she confronted me about us! Apparently, she saw you slapping my butt at Jordan's party and she's been suspicious ever since. I think I convinced her that we're not dating, but… I'm freaking out!"_

Alex chuckled. "First, you need to relax. Your screeching can probably be heard from outside of your office, so keep that voice of yours down." He let out a sigh. "Uhh, is that all? If I don't hear anything in the next day or two from Catherine, then we're okay."

"_And she was insulting you, telling me I deserved better," she added. "You know, if I wasn't related to her, I might have stabbed her with my scalpel. I'm just- I'm so tired of people not giving you enough credit. No matter how many times I've defended you they don't listen."_

"I can take the blame for some of that. I wasn't exactly the most popular guy when I ratted out Mer for tampering Shepherd's clinical trial years ago," he replied, rubbing his eyes. "But uhh, thanks for sticking up for me. Don't listen to Samantha. She's a snooty bitch whose panty hose is so far up her ass."

_April softly laughed. "Aww, don't be so harsh. She did apologize – although, that was for bringing up Jackson."_

"Banks just announced that he and Jo are having a baby. That was my highlight of the day so far," he sarcastically said. "And Mer's trying to weasel information from me like she has us figured out."

"_Does she?"_

"No- I don't know. So what if she does? It's just Meredith. I'd be more concerned with your freaking mother-in-law finding out before we even tell anybody," he answered worriedly. "You just have to deal with Jackson's sister. I have his mom up here."

"_Maybe we shouldn't worry about them finding out right now. It'll add to the stress we already have at work. Umm, Kevin and Jo are expecting?" she asked, changing the subject._

"Do we really gotta talk about that?" Alex whined. "I don't want to talk about those jerks."

"_Fine. What do you want to talk about?"_

The horny dude inside wanted to try out phone sex, but Alex knew April would hang up on him if he tried, especially during work hours. He chuckled at the thought before answering, "So uhh… are you staying at Webber's for Thanksgiving?"

"_Catherine invited me, so yeah. I am. And she has the portable crib for Logan, so Webber's would be more convenient," she said and smiled. "That doesn't mean we can't sneak off to your house while I'm in town. I know Catherine will find time to take the kids and spoil them."_

"I've gotten better at cleaning my house. And uhh, it doesn't stink – not as bad as it did before," he noted.

_She softly laughed. "You're cleaning? You're rubbing off on me."_

"And walking into rooms whistling bubbly tunes," he added, rolling his eyes when she giggled. "I'm happy, whatever. It's nice being freaking happy for a change."

* * *

When November turned the corner April was counting down the days until she and the children returned to Seattle for Thanksgiving. Cameron's fourth birthday was also two days after the holiday, so she was glad Alex would be able to celebrate it with them. She looked forward to seeing her former coworkers, especially Lexie and Izzie. While they maintained their weekly Skype chats on Sunday's, she needed to see them in person. At Stanford, she made plenty of friends. Nico was her closest friend because they worked together in the ER, but she had only known him for a few months and didn't feel comfortable being completely open with him. With Lexie and Izzie, she could tell them anything, though Alex hated the idea of his exes being the first people to learn of their relationship.

A small voice in his head constantly bothered him, though. Now that he was officially dating April, the paranoid side of him could hear Jackson telling him, "Hurt her and you're a dead man."

Possible backlash from their peers, specifically anybody with the last name Avery, and failing at their relationship made for a lose-lose situation for the peds surgeon. He would rather face the first obstacle over losing another woman because he had commitment issues.

He also avoided visiting the cemetery. He got as far as the parking lot, then changed his mind. What was he supposed to say to Jackson?

"Hey, man. I'm seeing your wife now. Don't hate me," sounded ridiculous. There were days when the guilt was unbearable. Just passing by Catherine in the hallway made him uncomfortable. He would remind himself that Jackson would want somebody to look after April. Better him than a random man he didn't know, he thought. At least he had built trust with his best friend when he was alive. He would have felt worse if they were on bitter terms when the plastic surgeon passed away.

Time seemed to move slowly in the OR. Alex was operating on a young baby girl with small bowel atresia. While his mind should have been fully devoted to the tiny human on his table, he was partly distracted by April's impending arrival from California. He felt guilty because if he botched the procedure and the child died, it was all on him. It wasn't the most complicated surgery he had done, but a simple distraction could screw it all up.

Richard had volunteered to pick up the Avery clan from the airport that morning, which made sense since they were staying at his house for the next four days. But Alex wanted to be the one to see them first. A month away from them was brutal.

Jo was assisting her ex-boyfriend in the OR. She caught him glancing up at the clock on the wall, making her extremely curious. "Why do you keep checking the time?"

"I've got other shit to do," he muttered.

"I hope you're not calling your little patients shit. That's not very nice. Then again, look who I'm talking to," she sneered.

Alex scowled at Jo. In the past, their frequent teasing wasn't bothersome – when they were just friends and eventually lovers. Now, he despised every joke that came out of her mouth. "Please tell me you won't be this annoying until you're on maternity leave," he retorted. "By the way, what a perfect freaking time to get knocked up. Fifth year, studying for the boards and actually trying to _pass_ them. Your baby will be born around the time you're supposed to take them."

She rolled her eyes at him. "And by then, you'll still be single and lonely. What a shame."

"That's what you think," he mumbled under his breath.

"What was that? I didn't quite hear you."

"Whatever." Alex let out a sigh of relief when his work on the baby was finished. "Alright. Duodenum and ileum are firmly connected now. Wilson, you can close for me, while I go talk to the parents. I'll give you a rundown on her post-op treatment when you're finished here. Any questions before I scrub out?"

Jo shook her head. "No, Dr. Karev."

"Don't kill her," he ordered before he walked out of the OR and into the scrub room.

After scrubbing out, the peds surgeon checked on his patients to kill the time. April's plane should have landed any minute now. If her hands weren't full dealing with the boys, she most likely would have sent him a text message to inform him. He had finished his set of rounds, leaving his patients with his residents. He stood by the nurses' station wondering how to greet her.

If she was with the children, he needed to act casual. Although, even without them, he couldn't show any real affection towards her. Their friends would notice, but at same time, would it be _that_ bad for them to know?

Not that their relationship was any of the other doctors' business. It all depended on April's comfort level. Whenever she was ready, then he would be ready. Her freaking kids had no idea she was dating Uncle Alex in the first place. They had a right to know before anybody else did. But they hadn't discussed when the right time would be to sit down and talk to the young Avery's. First, they wanted to be sure their long distance relationship could last long enough for the "big" talk to be necessary.

He hated waiting for her, so he decided to walk around and find out if any of his coworkers bumped into her first. Now he needed to figure out a believable excuse to pry her away from them if that was the case. Casually walking through the hallways, he finally spotted her – with Lexie and Izzie hugging her and squealing like high school teenagers.

Fan-freaking-tastic.

"Look at you. You look amazing!" Izzie gushed as she pulled away from the trauma surgeon. "That California sun is doing wonders for your skin."

"Really?" April softly chuckled. "But I don't tan. I _burn_. I'm pretty sure my skin tone is exactly the same."

"Well, how are the kids? Where are they?" Lexie eagerly asked. "Mark wants to introduce Lily to Logan. You know, for future matchmaking purposes."

April playfully rolled her eyes. "Uh huh. They're with Catherine. She's letting me off the hook for a few hours, so I can do some catching up with you two," she answered, noticing Alex nearby out of the corner of her eye. He appeared fidgety and awkward while he pretended to read the useless crap on a bulletin board. "Karev! Quit being shy and get over here."

Well, he didn't have much of a choice now. Alex quickly approached the threesome, slightly ducking his head and scratching the back of his neck. "Hey," he greeted her, giving her a lazy, one-armed hug. "You're back."

"Yeah, I'm… back," she replied, smiling and nodding back at him. "How are you, Alex?"

"Uhh, just fixed a kid about an hour ago." He snapped his fingers. "Oh, I just remembered. I gotta show you my rough draft of… the proposal to expand my Africa project to Stanford. I'm supposed to fax it to that Dr. Reynolds dude by next week and my grammar kind of sucks."

Lexie raised her eyebrow at Alex. "You're planning on expanding the project to Stanford? I haven't heard anything about that from Arizona."

"It's in the early stages or whatever. I'm not really supposed to be talking about it with anybody," he insisted. "And since April works at Stanford she probably should have a look at it. Anyway, let's go. I don't have all day to stand around."

April looked back at her friends as she walked away with Alex. "If I don't see you two later, we'll have plenty of time to catch up this weekend!" she called out to them.

The peds surgeon grinned after they turned into another hallway. "Think they bought that?"

"I think so," she said and playfully slapped his chest with the back of her hand. "Slick move, Dr. Karev."

"Anything to get you away from those two freaks," he quipped.

Before they could make it inside of on-call room, another distraction arrived, which only irritated Alex even more. Shane came rushing towards April and immediately hugged her.

"Dr. Avery, you're back!" the fifth year resident excitedly greeted her. "Has Alice seen you yet?"

"No, not yet. Heard she's scrubbed in with Meredith, so I'll try to find her when they're finished." April heard her impatient boyfriend clearing his throat and forced herself to smile at Shane. "You know what? I actually can't talk right now. I have to help Karev with a research paper for a journal."

"Oh, it's cool. I'll see you tomorrow anyway for Thanksgiving. And- and I'm sorry we didn't talk about asking Alice to move in with me. I mean, I know she's closest to you, so maybe I should've asked you-"

"Dude, Shepherd's looking for you. Go find him before he becomes freakin' moody," Alex intervened, rolling his eyes when Shane walked past him. He snickered after he disappeared from their sight and opened the door of an empty on-call room. "Dweeb."

April smirked at him as she shook her head. "Don't be so mean," she managed to say before his lips crashed into hers. She swiftly pushed off his lab coat, while he worked on the buttons of her coat. He nearly ripped open her blouse when she decided to tease him by gently biting on his lower lip.

"Freakin' A," he mumbled, which only made her laugh. He pulled his scrub top over his head and laid her on the bed, kicking off his shoes in the process. "I've been working out more."

She pressed her hand against his slightly flatter abdomen. He didn't quite have a beer belly, but the physique he had when they were residents had changed over the years. "That's good," she giggled.

He dug his fingers into her hair as he kissed her neck. "I'm seriously trying to clean myself up and stuff," he admitted. "I'm like trying really freakin' hard to impress you."

"Wait, what?" April lifted Alex's head from her neck, so she could look directly at him. "You don't need to try to impress me. You've already been doing that since… whenever we agreed to give us a shot."

"September 7th, he blurted out. She raised both of her eyebrows at him, surprised he carved that detail into his memory. He was never one to pay attention to that kind of detail. "What? I sent you pink roses. It was a good day."

"It was," she agreed, kissing his lips again. "And to be honest, you've been impressing me _before_ any of this happened. You've been really, really great – with everything."

Alex smiled down at the woman underneath him. Ever since residency, she had always covered his ass when he never asked for the support or wanted it. She tolerated his rude behavior and teasing for years. The only other person to stand by him – for the most part – was Izzie and he loathed her now. Why anybody would want to deal with his crap, he probably would never understand that. But April was always there even when he didn't want her to be. Now he hated it when they weren't together. The long distance was unbearable, but he was going to try to make it work for her. This was one relationship he refused to let fail.

Because he was beginning to fall in love with her.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, snapping him out of his deep thoughts.

He quickly shook his head and kissed her deeply to put them back in the mood. "It's nothing."

* * *

Thanksgiving in the Webber household was going to be full and hectic. If it weren't for his large living room, he wouldn't have hosted such a giant dinner in his home. Derek and Meredith plus two children. One Grey meant the other one would be attending as well, making that Grey and Sloan plus three children. Of course, Sofia wasn't going to be separated from her father for the holiday, so Arizona and Callie, along with tiny Timothy, were invited as well. Miranda Bailey and her husband, Ben, would also be attending. Her son Tuck was spending Thanksgiving with his father's family. Addison and Henry added to the group count, while Alice and Shane were able to get off of work for a few hours to have dinner with them as well.

It was impossible for Alex and April to sneak away, even for a couple of minutes just to cuddle. He didn't mind as much as he thought he would. Jordan was showing off the now wide gap in the top row of his teeth. He lost his other front tooth the previous week and received two dollars from the Tooth Fairy. Alex couldn't get enough of his lisp now.

And Jordan was sporting his newly shaved haircut because he wanted to be like Jackson. Since Cameron idolized his older brother, he had the same haircut as well. April refused to give Logan the same do, even though it would have been cute for all of them to match. She adored the baby curls on her youngest son's head too much to trim them off.

"Touch it, Uncle Alex. It's fuzzy," the 6-year old demanded, taking Alex's much larger hand and placing it against the top of his head.

"Wow, you're like a peach," he jokingly replied. "So, how many goals did you score in your first soccer season, dude?"

"I scored nine!" Jordan chirped, holding up nine fingers with his hands. "I scored _two _goals in one game! I wish you saw me play. Mommy said I'm gonna be a super good next year, so you have to come watch this time."

Alex instantly felt guilty for not having attended any of Jordan's soccer games. He blamed their schedules. The week he was in Palo Alto for his birthday was the same week his soccer team had a freaking bye. And he wasn't able to make it back out to California to watch him play before the season ended. April had e-mailed him a few videos she recorded with her cell phone for him to watch, but it wasn't the same feeling. In a way, he felt like he let the little guy down no matter how many times he apologized.

"I really promise this time that I'll watch you, okay?" He slyly grinned as he pointed at Arizona. "You should tell your Aunt Arizona to give me a nicer schedule next year, so I can watch you play. She may be your cool godmother, but she's also my boss."

Jordan nodded before running off to the perky peds attending. "Auntie 'Zona! You gots some 'splaining to do!"

Alex chuckled as he watched the young boy talk to Arizona with a lot of arm motions. He shrugged and grinned at his superior when she looked past Jordan's small head to slightly glare back at him. Walking away to avoid a pointless confrontation, he entered the kitchen where April and Alice were helping Catherine finish the last preparations for dinner.

"Dude, how much longer? I'm starving," he whined, examining the various dishes sitting on the countertops.

"Maybe another 20 minutes," April answered while she pulled out a fresh batch of biscuits from the oven. "Can you check if Logan's awake from his nap upstairs, please?"

"Uhh, sure." Alex walked out of the kitchen and went upstairs to April's temporary bedroom. It was like she had ESP because when he opened the door Logan was awake and standing in his crib. He appeared agitated about being left alone based on the cries coming out of his mouth until he saw another life form arrive. "Hey, little dude."

He picked up the 16-month old from his crib. The smile on the baby's face let him know he was happy to have company. "Well, you look like you had a nice nap. Are you hungry? Cause I am."

On the bed was Logan's outfit for dinner. Khaki pants, a short sleeved white polo and a red clip-on bow tie made Alex softly laugh. He never understood why parents dressed their infants and toddlers up. They were going to ruin their clothes with food stains anyway, so what was the point?

"You gotta be kidding me," he said to himself and placed Logan on the bed. Sitting beside him on the edge, he picked up the bow tie with his finger and thumb. "Your mom's really trying to make you look like a dork, huh? Do you really want to wear this?"

Logan's little fingers grasped the bow tie. He waved it around before throwing it at a random direction. Just because Jackson loved wearing bow ties it didn't mean his offspring felt the same way.

"That's what I thought," he replied with a smirk. "Oh, well. Mama's gonna change you if I don't do it for her, so I guess you'll just have to suck it up for an hour or two."

Alex carefully removed the onesie and tickled Logan's chubby belly. His infectious giggles made the peds surgeon smile. The whole pseudo dad thing was kind of neat, though it was weird referring to himself as that. He struggled to slip on the khaki pants as the bluish-green eyed baby continuously kicked his legs.

"C'mon, dude. I know I'm not your dada or whatever, but you need to put your freakin' pants on."

"Da-da-da-da-da," Logan giddily blurted out.

"Whoa, kid. I'm not your-"

He paused. Perhaps he misunderstood the tiny human's rambles. Logan had the tendency to repeat words he heard. It was the first time Alex heard him say dada, but that didn't necessarily mean anything… at least he hoped not. Or maybe April had been teaching him the word just for the hell of it. Maybe it wasn't a big deal at all.

Either way, it was awkward.

* * *

During dinner, everybody gathered in the living room. Three tables were combined for the adults, while the children ate together at a small table nearby. The babies sat with their parents and Mark had the honor of eating and feeding Lily simultaneously.

The doctors were all curious to hear about April's experience at Stanford. She shared stories about unusual cases that came into the ER and how she had been handling life as a single mother in California. In return, the others helped her catch up on life at Seattle Grace Mercy West. Arizona briefly discussed the possibility of expanding Alex's Africa project to India. They had built up enough funding throughout the years to extend their help to another country and she wanted her favorite student to write a proposal to the board for it. But Alex had a different idea.

"Expanding to India's cool, but how about we build a connection with Stanford? Expand the project to their hospital too," he suggested. "Uhh… I had this chat with Dr. Reynolds of the children's hospital over there last month. He thinks we could network with them. Seattle Grace gets Africa and uhh, we can send India to Stanford."

And Meredith's suspicions of Alex and April arose again, especially when the trauma surgeon agreed it was a brilliant idea. However, Arizona also thought it was a smart idea to form a bond with a potential sister hospital for the project. She hadn't seen any interactions between them that screamed a romantic relationship. Either they were just friends or they hid their feelings too well for anybody to notice anything out of the ordinary.

She was beginning to grow desperate. Her friend had a girlfriend who he refused to tell anybody about. His brighter mood couldn't have emerged out of nowhere because he was Alex Karev. She probably knew him better than anyone else did.

So she casually dropped her fork on the floor. Bending over to pick it up, she took a peek underneath the table and she finally received her confirmation.

His hand on her knee, gently rubbing it with his thumb. And her hand was on top of his, which made it even more obvious.

Meredith could only smile, though she quickly resorted to her poker face as she sat up on her bed. Her two friends were a couple. While she used to believe it would be a bad idea because of the distance, she couldn't help but feel happy for them. They both seemed to be doing alright. Alex hadn't been an asshole to any of the residents or interns whose name wasn't Jo. April's perkiness was back in full effect.

Maybe they _could_ work after all.

Following dinner, most of the doctors were on their way out to return to their homes, especially the ones with children. Alex offered to help clean up, while April and Catherine were in the kitchen dealing with the dishes. Meredith wanted to talk to him before she left with her family.

"So…" the general surgeon started as she stood beside Alex. "You and April."

"What?" he replied, shaking his head while he continued stacking dishes on top of each other.

Meredith smiled and playfully nudged her friend with her elbow. "Oh, stop. I saw your hand on her knee," she answered. His face formed into a scowl, making her laugh. "No need to get angry. I'm happy for you. She can be a little anal retentive and overly perky, but maybe that's exactly what you need in a woman."

Alex quickly shrugged. "Whatever. Just don't tell anyone not even Yang."

"How long have you two been together?"

"A couple of months. Although, we weren't even in the same state during the first month." He sighed, turning to face her. "Look, her kids don't know yet. She's waiting for the right time to talk to them. Well, Jordan and Cameron. Dude, Logan was saying freakin' dada to me earlier. What if he thinks I'm his dad?"

"Don't you want to be? You're great with them, Alex," Meredith insinuated.

"But I feel guilty," he whispered. "I'm not their dad and Logan's never been able to call Jackson that. It's just all too damn weird for me. It puts me in an uncomfortable position, especially if Catherine doesn't think I'm good enough for April. His snobby sister hates me, but I'm not surprised."

She gently patted his lower back. "You're happy, though. I can tell you both are. April probably feels awkward too sometimes," she insisted. "And I know a thing or two about dysfunctional families. I didn't even know Lexie and Molly existed until our intern year. At least the boys are already comfortable being around you."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he agreed, nodding his head.

"So, are you in love yet?" she teased.

"Shut up," he chuckled. Alex carried a stack of dishes and walked towards the kitchen. "I'm not talking anymore about this with you, Mer. You caught us, good for you. Just don't harass me with questions from now on."

Meredith giggled at Alex's bashfulness. He clearly had more than butterfly feelings for April. She wondered if the redhead's feelings were mutual. She didn't seem to be the type of person to hurt him either. They contradicted each other, but that was why they probably worked. Odd couple for sure, but they also perfectly fit together.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks for the reviews! A lot of Jackson mentions in this one, so sorry if I possibly depress you lol.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

April's return to Seattle had been a pleasant experience so far. It felt refreshing to be back in familiar territory where most of her friends resided. She missed seeing their faces every day and that included Cristina and her sarcasm. From residents she worked with to her favorite scrub nurses, they all missed her presence at Seattle Grace Mercy West. While she loved her job at Stanford, sometimes she wished she could be back in the city where her second family lived.

Especially with Jackson resting in peace beside Charles and Reed – her Mercy West family.

She wasn't going to return to Palo Alto without visiting her late husband. Normally, she brought Jordan and sometimes Cameron with her whenever she decided to visit the cemetery, but this time she came alone. It was early in the morning, probably too early for her kids to be awake. There were many things she wanted to talk about, but not with her sons present. Once in a while, a conversation with Jackson by herself was necessary. Plus, she refused to break down in front of her children.

It was a chilly morning. The sun had barely risen and April was bundled up in sweatpants and Jackson's black Harvard hoodie, one of the few articles of clothing she decided to keep for herself. The sleeves were longer than her arms and the jacket made it look like her body shrunk, but it still kept her warm and it was a cheesy way of pretending _he_ was the one keeping her body warm. She also brought along two bouquets of flowers that she bought the day before. One was placed in the vase between Charles' and Reed's headstones, while the other was for Jackson. She sat down in front of her husband's headstone, flipping the hood over her head and stuffing her hands inside of the jacket pockets.

"Good morning, you guys," she greeted them, softly smiling at them. "Are you doing okay in there?"

She wasn't sure why she asked that question because she hardly ever wanted to think about the decaying bodies buried underneath her. The thought of Jackson being eaten up by bugs made her sick and disturbed. She needed to change the topic fast.

"It's Cam's birthday today, Jackson," she cheerfully announced. "I can't believe he's four now. I still remember the day he was born. He was perfect. And he didn't cry a lot. It was like he was too shy to cry in front of anybody. He was such a good baby. Well, all of our boys were good. Logan's sometimes too crabby, but he's still a well-behaved baby."

"And Jordan's missing teeth now," April continued and laughed. "Both of his two front teeth are gone. His lisp when he talks is too damn hilarious. He looks more like you every day that passes by. And he's becoming quite the athlete just like his daddy."

There were too many stories she wanted to tell Jackson. She hadn't visited him since August, which felt so long ago. The trauma surgeon talked about her favorite surgeries at Stanford and the little adorable things their kids did. Even without him listening to her in person, she felt nervous about the last subject she wanted to bring up. No matter how hard she tried not to feel any guilt, it was always there.

"I'm dating Alex," she blurted out, then she bit down on her lower lip. Actually saying it was like lifting a huge weight off of her shoulders. "He's… he's been wonderful. Even with the distance between us, he finds ways to take care of us. I just hope you're okay with this because I still love you very much, but at some point I knew I'd have to move on. And Alex is the only person I completely trust with our babies."

Now the guilt was beginning to set in again. She couldn't stop the tears from forming in her eyes. Despite how happy Alex made her feel, she knew he wouldn't be in the picture if Jackson hadn't died. And she felt awful thinking about it because the peds surgeon was a miserable man since before that tragic day. In a way, he was second best and she hated thinking that.

Because Alex was just as perfect as Jackson, no matter how many flaws he had. And she cared for him deeply.

Those thoughts only made her pissed at the plastic surgeon for leaving her. Everything had been fine between them and he left, pushing her towards another man who she believed could be as great of a husband as Jackson. She felt like she was betraying him even though she wasn't doing anything wrong.

"I think I kind of love him," she admitted, wiping away her tears with her sleeve. "That's not wrong, right? W-we've only been dating for a couple of months, but he's meant a lot to me since you left. We grew closer as the months passed. We became better friends. I know none of that would have happened if you were still here. Dammit, I miss you, Jackson. And I also want to hate you all over again for making me want to love another man."

She spent a little over an hour sitting alone in the cemetery, talking about anything else that popped up in her mind. She also struck up a conversation with Reed and Charles, jokingly asking them how their married life was going. When it was time to leave she kissed her palm and placed it against Jackson's name on his headstone.

"I love you, Jackson. Bye, you guys," she softly said before she walked back to her car.

Instead of driving back to Richard's house, she made a detour to Alex's. She had a copy of his house key since she was a resident and Meredith was in charge of the frat house. After she moved out with Jackson and Alex, she kept the key as a keepsake. Plus, Meredith never asked for it back, so she didn't see any problem with keeping it. And Alex hardly minded her waltzing in whenever she pleased when they were just friends. She would voluntarily clean his house because she knew he was typically too lazy to do it himself, especially after Kevin and Jo left him alone.

The peds surgeon had the day off from work, so he could celebrate Cameron's birthday with April. Just as she expected when she crept upstairs to his bedroom – Meredith's old bedroom – he was asleep, lightly snoring away into his pillow. It was the first time she ever snuck into his room without a heads up beforehand. She hoped he wouldn't freak out and put her in a chokehold by accident. He was a wrestler after all.

Alex was normally a deep sleeper, but April's movements on the bed were enough to arouse him from his sleep. And the scent of lavender definitely wasn't coming from him. He slowly opened one eye to see her grimacing before she could lie down.

"What time is it?" he grumbled, remaining in the same position on his stomach.

"Umm… it's almost 7:30 AM," she whispered, although she wasn't sure why she felt compelled to lower her voice. They were the only people in the house. "I was on my way home from the cemetery. I thought I'd stop by for a while."

He rolled onto his side and pulled her down against his chest. "You don't smell like dead people."

"Well, it's not like I was rolling around with them," she retorted and rolled her eyes. "Don't even get me started on how _you_ smell in the morning."

"Whatever," he chuckled, gently resting his chin on top of her head. Alex slipped his hand underneath her shirt and her back was as cold as an ice cube. "Geez, did you undress at the cemetery or something? You're freaking freezing."

April nudged his shoulder and laughed. "I didn't think it was that cold outside. Your hand is really warm, though."

She snuggled her face into his forest green tank top. They were cuddling, something she wished they could do more often if the distance wasn't a factor. Even going out on dates would be nice. They only officially went out on one date. Possible relocation was out of the question. She just moved, while he was comfortable in Seattle. He hardly knew some of her coworkers and he already loathed them, but the children's hospital was a completely separate building. He didn't have a problem with Dr. Reynolds, the man in charge of Pediatric Surgery. Maybe he would consider moving, but it wasn't the time to talk about that yet.

"So, are you heavily considering your proposal to expand your Africa project to Stanford?"

"Yeah, I guess. I don't think it's impossible," he muttered. It was early in the morning and talking about work wasn't exactly a topic he was in the mood to discuss. "Why are you asking me that right now?"

She shrugged. "Just wondering. It'd be nice if it happened, you know? Building a connection with Stanford would possibly require you to make a few trips down to California to help oversee it, make sure everything's organized."

"And it would mean I'd see you and the kids more often," he implied. "Sweet deal."

"I think I'm going to tell Catherine about us," she blurted out, sitting up on the bed. April fidgeted with the zipper of her jacket, while Alex shot her a skeptical look. "I don't like lying to her and maybe she'll be understanding of it. I also want to tell Alice because I hate hiding things from her too."

"Okay, I'm cool with Alice knowing, but _Catherine_?" Alex sat up on his bed and rubbed his eyes. "Are you sure you're ready for that?"

April nodded and sighed. "Why not? She'll find out eventually and if I don't tell her now, she'll hear it from Samantha and you know she's going to twist her words around. I don't want her finding out from anybody except for me," she insisted.

Alex slightly pouted, appearing annoyed. He wanted to fall asleep again. "Well, what about Jordan and Cam? When is that talk gonna happen?" he asked irritably. "And you know what Logan called me on Thanksgiving? It's either he was stuttering or he clearly called me Dada."

She softly smiled at him. "He called you that?"

"You're happy he did? Have you been teaching him to call me that?"

"No, no! I promise I haven't been," the trauma surgeon answered sheepishly. "I can see how that would be awkward for you…"

"Ya think?" He pointed at himself with a scowl on his face. "I'm not his freaking dad. Do you honestly think Catherine Avery would be thrilled about her grandson calling some other dude Dada? Of course not. She'll give you a ton of crap for it too because Logan never got to call Jackson that. Hell, he never had the chance to hear him say his first word."

"You don't have to remind me, Alex. I'm aware of the fact that Jackson missed a lot of Logan's milestones," she bitterly replied. "I understand why it makes you uncomfortable, but is it really that terrible? You love my sons, right?"

Alex groaned in frustration. "I'm not ready to be anybody's father!"

"I'm not asking you to be their father at this very moment. You enjoy spending time with the boys and they feel the same way. You shouldn't be surprised that they're attached to you now." April slid off of the bed and wore her shoes. "I'm leaving. We're just going to get into some ridiculous fight and I want to be in a good mood for Cam's birthday."

He smirked at her. "I thought we were already fighting. Like the old days or whatever," he quipped.

She stood in the doorway with her arms folded. "But I don't like fighting with you," she said disappointedly. "I have enough on my plate to stress me out. I'm sorry for waking you up."

Great. He unleashed the douche in him and pissed her off. If he didn't fix their problem now, she was going to give him the silent treatment at Cameron's birthday party and their peers would eventually figure them out. Meredith already knew they were together and she would likely butt her way into his business like she almost always did.

Alex jumped out of bed and chased after April in the hallway. He wrapped his much larger arms around her small frame, though she tried to free herself from his grip. "C'mon, don't be like that. Do I gotta take you back to my bed caveman style?" he teased.

April turned her head, looking up at him with a fake smile. "I bet you've done it to other women before."

"But I knocked them out first, so it was relatively painless," he continued to play along. She rolled her eyes in response, so he picked her up and carried her back into his bedroom. "You just got here, so you can't leave yet."

"If you don't put me down, I'll scream," she warned.

Alex snickered as he set her on the bed. "You'll be screaming for a different reason."

* * *

Cameron's birthday party was a small gathering at the Woodland Park Zoo that afternoon. Catherine set it up the minute she found out April was returning to Seattle for Thanksgiving. She wanted to spoil her grandbabies as much as possible, especially the middle child. The urologist always had a soft spot for Cameron. It might have been his cute little glasses – and the potential she already saw in him to become the next Avery surgeon.

She paid for everything – zoo admission, carousel ride, party room. It was basically her birthday present for Cameron. Their close knit group of doctors were invited with their kids, the same people who were together for Thanksgiving plus Izzie.

After the zoo tour Catherine arranged, the children ate their lunch before heading to the carousel. Alex was in charge of keeping an eye on Jordan and Cameron, which meant he was forced to ride along with them – more like stand in between their horses and pretend to enjoy it. He hated carousels, but he was going to try to like them for at least a minute and a half.

April stood nearby snapping pictures of her boys and the other children as they passed by. Alex would smile for the camera, though his scowl would return afterwards. She finally held her camera against her side and yawned. She tried her best not to show how tired she was, but she was having a yawn attack.

"Why are you so tired?" Alice inquired and stood beside her sister. "We didn't even walk during the zoo tour, thank God. All those little kids running all over the place? Makes me almost not want to have any."

"I was up early," she answered. And her boyfriend gave her a workout, but she wasn't going to tell her that part. However, the moment of truth arrived. While Alex was occupied with the boys, it was time to confess to Alice. "So, umm… I'm dating someone."

"Let me guess. Alex?" The younger Kepner laughed as April looked back at her in shock. "What? You didn't think I could figure it out? I already had my suspicions when I visited you last month. Both of you acted awkward around each other at the house and you ignored anything I said about him. And I talked to Libby about it. She kind of thought you were with him too."

She scrunched her face in embarrassment. "Was it that obvious?"

"Not completely obvious, but since you just confirmed it, now I know I've been absolutely right." Alice was happy for her sister and she thought it would take her much longer to try to date again. She playfully elbowed April's side. "Are you in looove yet?"

"We're not talking about that," April shyly dismissed, shaking her head. Despite what she said in the cemetery that morning, her feelings were a whole bunch of confusion. There were definitely feelings for Alex, but the big "L" word? She wasn't ready to openly talk about that yet.

Alice cackled as she rubbed her palms together. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Shush. We've only been together for two and a half months," she argued. "And I still need to sit down with the boys and talk to them about this. Maybe Jordan will understand, but Cam might not. I also want to tell Catherine-"

"Don't do it yet," Alice advised.

"Why not? Even Alex doesn't want me telling her yet, but Jackson's sister has her suspicions."

"The snooty one?" Alice chuckled after April lightly slapped her arm. "It's true, Apes. What does she think of you and Alex together?"

"She's not a fan," the trauma surgeon muttered, folding her arms. "Samantha doesn't like Alex, said I deserved better than him. Her ideal man for me is somebody who's rich and well-respected. Alex isn't perfect, but I'm not either. He's the next best person to being a father for the kids. That matters a lot to me."

Meanwhile, Alex helped Jordan and Cameron off of the carousel by carrying each of them in one arm. "Was that fun, dudes?" He watched both of them nod eagerly. The peds surgeon refused to admit that he was slightly dizzy from the carousel ride. "Good, because I'm not going on that again."

He set them on the ground before he approached Meredith. She had also taken pictures of Zola, Nathan and Derek on the carousel. The general surgeon split her time between watching her family and observing Alex's interactions with April. As expected, they were casual and avoided any signs of PDA towards each other.

"What is it about carousels? There's nothing exciting about them," he complained. "You just go around and around on a bouncing pony. And I feel sick now."

Meredith smiled at her friend. "I rode carousels when I was a kid. They're not so bad, Alex."

"Well, you weren't on this one."

"I'm sure April appreciated you riding with her sons, though. She certainly looked happy about it."

"You know, we wouldn't even be together if it wasn't for Zola," Alex sheepishly replied. Meredith raised her eyebrow at him in response. He slipped his hands inside of his pockets and shrugged. "She offered some… dating advice. I played along for a while, but I did kind of use it. Sent April pink flowers like Zola suggested and it worked. Whatever."

Meredith grinned widely at him. "Does this mean she gets to be the flower girl at your wedding?"

"Shut up," he chuckled, shaking his head. "Don't bring up that crap. It's scary. We're not even in the same state 75% of the time. I'd probably have to move down to California before we talk about freaking marriage."

"That wouldn't be a problem for you, right? I mean, Arizona seems really interested in building that connection with Stanford. There's no way you couldn't get a job with their children's hospital if you guys pull it off."

"But I like it up here. I'm familiar with the place and how we run the hospital." He glanced over at April, who was busy sanitizing Jordan and Cameron's hands with baby wipes, and slightly smiled in amusement. "I guess change can be good, but then I'd have to work with a bunch of rich snobs and see Jackson's bitchy sister."

"You'll seriously put your job over April?"

He sighed, kicking at a small pebble on the ground. "No. Uhh… I think I kind of love her," he muttered. Meredith's mischievous smile annoyed him. Cristina would likely find out before the day was over that he, Alex Karev, was falling in love with April Avery. He pointed his finger at his friend. "You better not say anything, Mer."

She softly laughed, holding up her hands in front of her chest. "Relax. I won't, but when are you going to tell April?"

"I don't know. She's more worried about how to tell Catherine and everyone else about us," he answered, adding an eye roll. "The kids… how the hell do you explain the dating thing to them? I won't be just cool Uncle Alex anymore. And what if she doesn't even feel that way about me? I'll sound like an idiot."

"What if she does?"

"But what if she doesn't?"

Meredith placed her hand on Alex's shoulder as she walked past him. "You won't know until you tell her."

Alex pursed his lips and deeply sighed. Once again, his fear of commitment was beginning to sneak up on him again. He knew Meredith was right. Holding back his feelings could bite him in the ass if he didn't tell April how he truly felt about her. He was too paranoid about her not reciprocating those feelings and that would be the end of their relationship.

He gazed back at her from where he stood. She was sharing the pictures she recently took with Alice. Her perky giggles could be heard as she pointed out something funny on her camera. He loved her laugh – and everything else about her.

"So April's the girlfriend you've been hiding," Izzie teased. Her ex-husband immediately glared at her and she smiled in return. "Okay, I get the whole distance thing makes it difficult to have a normal relationship, but the way you stare at her is… I don't know. You're so into her, Alex."

"Yeah, so? Mind your own business," the peds surgeon retorted. She didn't deserve the douche treatment, but he hated that she figured it out without April having to tell her about their relationship.

"Quit being an ass. I'm being nice, Alex." Izzie stared at April with a smirk on her face. "No wonder she's always mum when I ask her about whether or not she's seeing anybody. Everything suddenly makes sense now. How long has this been going on?"

"September. Can you shut up now?"

Izzie shook her head and smiled. "What are you so uptight about? You two are good together. She trusts you and I'm sure you trust her since you're still together," she continued, despite the scowl she received from Alex. "When are you going to stop holding this grudge against me? We've both moved on. We're both happy with where we are now, so why do you still hate me?"

She had a point. Since Izzie returned to Seattle he had been angry and jealous because she was in a drama free marriage. She was able to put her life back on track without him, which made him bitter. After taking care of her when she battled cancer, he thought everything would be fine… until she left him for good. It was a huge blow considering she was the first person he knew he loved. It was like she didn't need him anymore.

But now he had April and she gave him those feelings he once had for Izzie. He wouldn't quit giving his ex the cold treatment because he refused to stop dwelling on the past. Forgiveness was long overdue, though.

"Alright, fine. You're right," he surrendered. "Uhh, we can start over and be friends or whatever. Just don't bug me about April every second. You two can talk about me on your own girly time."

Izzie couldn't help herself. He softly groaned when she hugged him. Some of their coworkers quickly noticed the exchange as they watched curiously. Alex forced himself to smile, gently patting the oncologist's back.

"People are staring," he said through gritted teeth. "Can you get off me now?"

Izzie took a step back and laughed. "You're still the guy who won't let anyone see your soft side," she jokingly replied. "But thank you for giving me another chance."

Alex slightly shrugged, then he approached April. She saw the reconciliation between him and her best friend and appeared delighted by it based on the cheerful grin on her face. "I don't hate Izzie anymore, okay? Throw the confetti," he sarcastically announced. "And she knows about us, so that's one less person you need to tell. Oh, and Meredith too."

"I told Alice," she noted. "And she wasn't surprised. Maybe… maybe Catherine won't be either. She can usually read right through me. This is the same woman who knew I was virgin without asking. I bet Samantha told her and she's waiting for me to admit it. Those two always talk about me behind my back and then I find out eventually."

"Do whatever you want. I'm just going along with the ride," he insisted. "I mean, I could totally kiss you right now in front of everybody if that's how you want the rest of them to know."

"Nice try, but no." April lightly patted Alex's chest and smiled. "We'll do it casually and a little classier."

Catherine walked towards the couple and clapped her hands. "C'mon, you two. It's time to cut Cammy's cake!"

"I'm dating Alex!" she panicked, covering her mouth with her hands. Her eyes were wide open as Mama Avery tilted her head with a raised eyebrow.

"Casual my ass," the peds surgeon remarked with a smirk on his face.

Catherine placed her hands on her hips, her gaze switching back and forth between April and Alex. The anxious redhead was anticipating an unpleasant reaction from her mother-in-law. "Girl, it's about time you stepped up and said something. Did you honestly think I couldn't see your little hand holding game at Thanksgiving dinner?" she asked amused. "I was sitting right beside you, dear. My old eyes are still 100% reliable."

April lowered her hands to her sides. Her cheeks were bright red, feeling insanely embarrassed for cracking under the pressure. Catherine's presence almost always made her nervous, especially when she was hiding something from the urologist. "Wh-why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I knew you would tell me eventually. Of course I wasn't expecting you to just blurt it out like you did, but it's obvious hiding this from me has been killing you inside."

"You're not mad?" she asked worriedly.

"Honey, remember our conversation before you moved to California?" Catherine reminded her and grasped April's shoulders. "I want you to be happy. Don't feel guilty about dating somebody else."

April bit her lower lip and awkwardly smiled at Catherine. "Yeah, I remember. Umm… thank you?"

Catherine turned her attention to Alex. She didn't have the same cheerful vibe that she had with April. "And you, Dr. Karev. You better be treating her with kindness and respect. My baby boy will crawl out from his grave and haunt you for the rest of your life if you hurt April. You hear me?"

Alex cleared his throat and quickly nodded. "Yes, ma'am. She's in good hands. They're clean too." He winced after his girlfriend slapped his abdomen with the back of her hand. He forced himself to smile at Mama Avery. "Is that all?"

"Yes, but I'll have spies keeping an eye on you," she warned before taking April's hand and leading her to the table where everyone else gathered around.

Spies? They were probably going to be Mark and Lexie, Alex thought. Or the whole hospital. He knew Catherine wasn't playing around. Avery's protected their own like they were a mafia and that included April. Although she approved of them dating, he only had to make one dumb mistake and he was screwed.

* * *

It was the second week of December and by then, April's friends in Seattle were all aware of her relationship with Alex. One peep from Izzie to Lexie and then Mark knew, which meant Callie and Arizona found out and so on and so on. Because Catherine already knew she didn't think it was a big deal anymore, but Alex was the one dealing with the teasing and never ending questions from his coworkers, especially Mark. He was always going to side with Jackson and he hadn't been on the plastic surgeon's good list since his fling with Lexie.

Whatever. People gossiping about him wasn't his biggest problem. He and Arizona had been working endlessly on their proposal to expand the Africa project to Stanford for the board members. For him, they needed to nail their presentation if he had any hope of possibly making a permanent move to Palo Alto and Stanford. His mentor was on board with him making frequent visits to California if their plans pulled through, but she didn't quite like the thought of him leaving Seattle for good. The selfish side of her wanted him to stay because he was her most reliable peds attending.

April had been busy at work and arranging her Christmas plans. All of her sisters would be in Moline for the holidays except for her. She couldn't get the time off of work to go home. She suspected it was Samantha's way of getting back at her for lying to her about Alex. The cardio surgeon likely talked to her father-in-law, the Chief of Surgery, into making sure she had to stay in Palo Alto. Samantha also felt the desire to rub it in.

"_Traumas are high during the week of Christmas. People are always doing incredibly stupid things. What kind of hospital would we be if the Head of Trauma wasn't around for any of that?"_

Guilty. Jackson's oldest sister was always good at making her feel that way. That bitch.

So while her entire family would be together in Ohio without her, at least she had Alex visiting her and the children. They agreed to finally talk to Jordan and Cameron about their relationship with hopefully, positive reactions from the eldest Avery boy.

But he was a major pain at the moment. However, she couldn't blame him too much.

Chicken pox found him a week before Christmas break. And Jordan was in agony – maybe a little too much agony for April to bear. He definitely got some of his dramatics from his Aunt Kimmie. She also had to send Cameron and Logan to Samantha's, which worried her because her sister-in-law and children weren't the greatest combination. Even the daycare workers at the hospital were more trustworthy than her, so April could somewhat breathe knowing they were in better hands throughout the day.

She sat on the couch in the living room and watched her son throw a tantrum on the hardwood floor in front of her. He was itchy and he wanted to scratch badly. She forced him to wear her pink oven mitts and securely fastened them with duct tape, so he couldn't remove them easily to scratch the little spots all over his body. He rolled around on the floor in his Superman pajamas as he cried and screamed. April felt terrible for doing it to him, but it was for his own good.

"Jordan, sweetie. You _can't_ scratch. If you scratch your pox marks, they're going to scar and you'll look like a cheetah for the rest of your life," she reminded him with her arms folded. "And the chicken pox isn't the worst thing you can get. There are many kids in the world who are much sicker than you are."

"But the spots are so _itchy_!" he complained before flipping over onto his stomach and crying on top of his oven mitt covered hands. "I want to scratch!"

"You can't! And please get up from the floor, baby. It's dirty. You'll only make your blisters worse by rolling around on the floor," she scolded him, then she pushed herself up from the couch when he refused to move. April picked him up and rolled her eyes as he kicked his legs and waved his arms. "Jordan, stop it. Even Logan's acted more maturely than the way you're acting right now."

Jordan rubbed his teary eyes with the oven mitts. "I hate chick'n pox!" he whined. "I want Daddy!"

April frowned as she sat down on the couch and let Jordan lie on her lap. Jackson was always better at handling their children's illnesses. She would worry too much and overanalyze their symptoms as if a simple fever could be something worse. He remained calm and took care of everything without any problems. It also broke her heart to hear her son crying for his father. He hadn't mentioned Jackson in a while, so his sudden need for him caught her off-guard.

Maybe Jordan was too emotional and uncomfortable to realize what he had just said, but considering she was mean mommy at the moment, of course he wanted his daddy. And she couldn't do anything about that. Her only hope of calming him down was to call Alex. She really didn't want to because he had been busy stressing out over his presentation, but he was her emergency call.

"Would you feel better if I call Uncle Alex?" She let out a sigh of relief when he nodded. Picking up her cell phone from the couch, she dialed her boyfriend's number and hoped he wasn't in surgery. Otherwise, she would have to endure another long whine fest from Jordan.

Alex knew Jordan was battling the chicken pox, but April felt guilty about bothering him in the middle of work. Fortunately, he answered her call. "Hey, Alex. Somebody wants to talk to you," she greeted him before holding her cell phone against her baby boy's ear.

"Un-uncle Alex," he cried with a pout on his face. "Mommy won't let me scratch my chick'n pox."

"_Sorry, dude. Your mom's right. You can't scratch," he remorsefully replied. "You gotta be a big boy and toughen up. Those pox will be gone before you know it."_

Jordan only cried harder. "But they itch so bad! Mommy made me wear oven mitts, so I can't scratch. She's being really mean!" April rolled her eyes while she lightly patted his back. "Can you come over, please? I don't like Mommy."

"_Don't say that. She's only doing what's best for you and that's preventing you from scratching. And I'm sorry I can't come over right now. I'm super busy with work and stuff."_

"Can you come after then?" he pleaded.

_Alex sighed. His presentation with the board was the following day, so flying out to Seattle just to visit his sick godson was like risking his board certification to take care of baby Tommy during his fifth year. He couldn't blow this opportunity with his project. Arizona would kill him for sure if he skipped out of town before their big day._

"_I'm coming down for Christmas, remember? You can wait another week and a half, buddy."_

"That's too far!" Jordan whined, burying his face into April's lap. "I don't want to talk to Uncle Alex no more."

April shook her head as she held her cell phone against her own ear. "Don't worry about us. We'll be okay. I just wanted him to calm down for a minute. He was throwing another temper tantrum over his inability to scratch."

"_Are you sure you're fine alone? Sounds like he's a handful," he implied._

"Trust me. I'm okay," she assured him. "I only have to watch one kid until he's better. To be honest, I feel horrible for leaving Cam and Logan with Samantha, but I don't want them catching the chicken pox from him. I'm probably going to have to disinfect the entire house before I let them back in here."

"_Don't you do that anyway when one of them has a small cold?" he quipped._

"How's your presentation coming along?" she asked, changing the subject. "Are you ready for tomorrow morning? Dr. Reynolds is looking forward to seeing it via webcast – not that I'm trying to add on to any pressure you're already facing, though."

"_Yeah, I think I'm ready. Robbins and I feel pretty good about our presentation. Umm, I don't see how the board would think it's a bad idea to connect with Stanford. If they turn us down, I'm going to be so freaking pissed off. All of that work for nothing, you know?"_

"I'm confident you'll pull it off. You were able to do it as a resident when you literally had zero funding initially, so how can they turn you down when the funding _is_ there?"

_Alex nodded in agreement. "True, but you never know with these morons. They might pull the funding from under us and use the money for something else or whatever. This expansion could help me land a job at Stanford."_

April smiled brightly. It was the first time Alex mentioned anything to her about wanting to move to California to be closer to her. Of course she wanted him in the same state as her and he seemed to be warming up to the idea.

"It would be awesome if you worked here," she chirped. "Things would feel less complicated, that's for sure."

"_So, uhh… you're sure I can't fly down for half a day and help?"_

"Yes, I'm sure. Focus on your presentation first. Don't stress about us. Call me later when you're done working."

"_Alright. I'll call you tonight. I love you."_

Then came the awkward silence. April wasn't sure if she heard him right. Alex hadn't realized he let it slip until he didn't receive a response from her. That wasn't how he wanted her to find out, over the freaking phone.

"You… you what?" she softly said.

_Alex grimaced as he dropped his head. "Uhh… I said I'll call you tonight," he mumbled. "I gotta go and… finish up work. Just put some calamine crap on Jordan, so he'll stop whining for at least an hour. Talk to you later."_

April heard dead silence afterwards when Alex hung up on her, but even his reluctance to tell her the truth couldn't stop her from smiling. He loved her. She thought she would have to say it first before he even hinted at possibly being in love with her. She was certain he would pretend he never said anything until he was back in Palo Alto for Christmas, which was fine with her. She would rather tell him she loved him too in person anyway.


	12. Chapter 12

**It feels like forever since I updated this one, so I hope whoever is still reading this will forgive me lol. Anyway, I'll consider this a special update because this one's for my buddy, conn8d! HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRIEND! (Btw, read her AK2 stories. They're awesome!) So this one's a little longer than what I write, but let me know what you think please!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Alex sat slumped in his window seat on the airplane, his head resting against his crumpled jacket as a substitute for a pillow. He was on his way to San Francisco to spend Christmas with April and the boys. His vacation was a grand total of five days, two before the holiday and two afterwards. He should be looking forward to the trip. He _wanted_ to feel excited to see his favorite people. A part of him, though, couldn't let go of the disappointment he felt from the outcome of his presentation to the hospital board members.

He impressed the board members with his convincing arguments to support expanding his Africa project to Stanford. That wasn't the problem.

The board members approved of the expansion, so not only was the project officially including India but Stanford University Medical Center was now Seattle Grace Mercy West's sister hospital. Arizona couldn't be more thrilled that her student successfully pulled it off. That wasn't the problem either.

It was the news he received after the agreements between Stanford and SGMW were finalized that bothered him.

_"As much as I'd love to have you on our staff, Dr. Karev, we currently don't have room for you," Dr. Reynolds regretfully told him upon his visit to Seattle._

The peds surgeon was certain the project would for sure land him a job in Palo Alto where he would only work a building away from April. However, his hopes were crushed in one sentence. Instead, Arizona organized a plan to send him down to California once a month for a week as a visiting surgeon. That wasn't enough for him, though.

April shared her disappointment when he told her what happened, but she attempted to spin a positive light on the situation.

_"At least we'll be seeing each other every month."_

Unfortunately, that was what they had already been doing since they started dating. The majority of his visits would consist of overseeing his project at the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Alex preferred going home to her every night without having to fly back to Seattle at the end of the week.

He never thought he would want a family to love and go home to because growing up in an unstable household made him fearful of screwing up another. An abusive drug addict for a father and a mentally ill mother, not exactly the best role models for him. April's parents were the opposite. There was nothing wrong with either of them as far as he knew. He didn't know Big Joe very well when he was alive, but he was a nice man, despite knocking out Jackson with a single punch during their first encounter. Karen had always been kind to him, though the last time he saw her, he and April were sneaking around. He was certain Alice spread the news of their relationship to the rest of the Kepner clan by then.

Big Joe and Karen were the type of parents he wished he had, loving and supportive. But maybe he wouldn't have been the tough guy he was now if he and April switched parents. She may not have had the courage to stand up to his father like he did. Whatever. They were dealt with very different cards and he couldn't do anything about that now.

The more he thought about the Avery boys, the more he wanted to be their father… stepfather. Same thing, sort of. That probably wouldn't happen until both he and April were living under the same roof. Oh, and the so-called big talk with the kids about their dating status. That was going to be interesting.

And there was also his slip up over the phone. Alex expected April to bring it up every time they spoke on the phone, but she surprisingly didn't. It was either she forgot it happened or she wanted to wait until he was in Palo Alto. He suspected the latter.

His flight was relatively smooth, except for the obnoxious toddler who kicked the back of his seat for fifteen straight minutes. If he hadn't warmed up to children over the years, he might have tied the kid's ankles together with his belt.

He stood outside of the Mineta San José International Airport with his carry on luggage beside him. April was picking him up, which fared better than waiting for a rental car. After about ten minutes of waiting, her black Acura MDX pulled up in the loading area. She popped open the trunk before she got out of her car to meet him in the back.

Jordan's chatter and the speakers blasting nursery rhymes could be heard. All three boys were in the car, but they were too distracted and locked down in their car seats to notice April greeting Alex with a long, sweet kiss. It was one of those "I'm so happy to see you" kisses, which he had no problem with. He was happy to see her too.

"Dude," Alex sighed, then he quickly shook his head and smiled. "I mean, hi."

"Hi," she chuckled. "I thought we could tell the boys about us over lunch. Do you mind?"

"I guess not. I'm freaking starving anyway." He stored his luggage in the trunk before they both got into the car. His presence was greeted by Jordan shrieking out his name, making him laugh as he turned around to look at them. "Hey, little dudes!"

Jordan grinned brightly at the peds surgeon. "Uncle Alex! Mommy's gonna take us to see Santa later after lunch!"

"You've been a good boy, right? Otherwise, Santa will give you a lump of coal for Christmas," he playfully warned.

"I've been good! Right, Mommy?"

April nodded as she started driving her car. "Yes, baby. You and your brothers have all been very good. No lumps of coal for any of you," she happily announced, eliciting cheers from the 6-year old.

Alex looked at the trauma surgeon. "Did everything arrive in one piece?" he whispered. His Christmas presents for the boys were ordered online and shipped to April's house.

"Mmhmm. They're all wrapped and under the tree." She briefly smiled at him. "I'm glad you're here. I could kill Samantha for making me stay here instead of going home to Moline. I don't have to be at the hospital, but I'm technically on-call for Christmas."

"So, uhh… if you were able to go home, where would that leave me?"

"I would've asked you to come with us. Well, if you wanted to see the farm."

"Yeah, why not? I'd love to see you in overalls and a straw hat," he quipped.

April nudged Alex's arm and laughed. "Stereotype much? I haven't worn overalls since I was like, ten."

"Did ya know Old McDonald had a farm?" Jordan called out from the backseat. "And he had chick'ns, pigs, horsies, duckies and cows! Mommy lived on a farm. She named a pig after Daddy."

"Seriously?" Alex stared at April amused. "A pig? You couldn't find a cute duck or whatever?"

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head in embarrassment. "This was before I- it happened after I failed my boards," she answered before she whispered, "And I was pregnant with Jordan."

Alex slowly nodded. "Oh," he softly said.

"Poor old Jacks has gone to Swine Heaven, though," she sadly added. "At least he's keeping Jackson company."

He slightly shifted in his seat, suddenly growing uncomfortable. April didn't seem bothered by her own comment, but he was. First Christmas without Jackson. Alex wondered if she had even thought about it. Or maybe she avoided thinking about him altogether. He doubted it.

In the back of his mind, Christmas would be completely different for him if his best friend was still alive. He wouldn't be in Palo Alto with April and the kids. Instead, he would be in Seattle, lonely and careless about celebrating the holiday. The painful guilt had crept up on him again, but he refused to let it ruin his vacation.

They arrived at Howie's, a pizzeria located across from the Stanford campus. Alex helped April unload the boys from the backseats. He chuckled as Logan kicked his legs, excited to see him again.

"Da-da-da-da-da!" the youngest Avery boy babbled, while Alex picked him up from his car seat.

"You're still calling me that?" Alex nervously asked and hoped Jordan and Cameron hadn't heard their baby brother calling him Dada. He followed April into the restaurant carrying little Logan against his shoulder.

They were seated in the back, which was perfect for April because she wanted all of the privacy she could get. Logan's high chair was in between her and Alex's chairs and the other two boys were sitting across from them.

After placing their orders, April kept Logan occupied with crackers before she turned her attention towards Jordan and Cameron. "Boys, Mommy has something to tell you and… maybe you'll understand what I'm trying to say, maybe you won't. But umm, your Uncle Alex and I are dating," she announced. Both of her sons simply stared at her with puzzled expressions on their faces. "Y-you know what dating is, right?"

"Is that when you kiss and stuff?" Jordan answered and giggled.

"Something like that," she sheepishly said, then she glanced over at Alex. "Uhh… a little help, please?"

Alex hoped he wouldn't have to explain anything. The boys were too young to fully comprehend what the hell their mother was talking about. "Okay. Umm, remember that movie we watched, _Lady and the Tramp_? And uhh, the dogs ate spaghetti and kissed because they ate the same noodle?" Both of them nodded quietly. "That's dating."

"So you and Mommy eat spaghetti and kiss?" Jordan asked curiously. "You eat spaghetti like the doggies?"

"Well, no." Scratching the back of his neck, Alex had a feeling this conversation would be more complicated than it had to be. "People who date hold hands and uhh, go out for dinner or they go to the movies. There's a bunch of stuff people can do on dates. Your mom and dad did that a lot."

"Does this mean you're our daddy now?"

April cleared her throat and shook her head. "Not exactly, Jordan, but if Uncle Alex were to move in with us one day, he would be _like_ a second daddy. He would be your daddy if we… got married," she implied as she made eye contact with Alex. The conversation was becoming more awkward by the second.

Alex nervously laughed. "Would that be cool with you, dudes? You know, things aren't gonna be different just because I'm kissing your mom now."

She almost wanted to smack him upside the head for his last comment. "It's true, boys. Things will be the same – sort of."

Cameron stopped paying attention and was busy coloring on his kids' menu, while Jordan's eyes switched back and forth between April and Alex. He was trying to grasp the situation, but he didn't quite fully understand it yet. The poor boy appeared more confused than ever.

"When are you gonna get married?" he finally asked.

April opened her mouth to speak, but she quickly closed it. She looked at Alex, who was pretending to check his cell phone. Neither of them knew how to answer Jordan's question. That conversation would have to take place another time – if they lasted that long to discuss the big "M" word.

* * *

The talk didn't go exactly the way April wanted it to. Jordan continuously asked both her and Alex questions until their lunch was served. They were both thankful "Where do babies come from?" wasn't one of them. The 6-year old slowly began to understand the concept of dating, but he also mixed it up with marriage. Cameron had gone to his own world with his crayons, while Logan babbled a combination of incoherent and audible words. Alex was relieved none of them were Dada in front of April and the boys. He felt he hadn't earned the right to be called that name, so hearing it twice now made him uneasy.

April answered most of Jordan's questions and Alex occasionally muttered responses when he actually had one. She tried her best to answer every one of his questions in an understandable matter. Her eldest boy was smart for his age, but he was still only six years old. He wasn't going to comprehend everything coming out of her mouth.

Following lunch, they made the short trip to the Stanford Shopping Center to visit Santa Claus. Alex personally didn't want to have any part in it because he stopped believing in the jolly man when he was seven after he failed to receive the Lego set he wanted for Christmas. He wasn't going to ruin the Avery boys' imaginations by telling them Santa wasn't real, though. April would be livid anyway.

The line to meet Santa was long and the majority of the children waiting were dressed up as if they had just gone to Sunday mass. Alex was glad April hadn't done the same with her kids. Waiting took at least a half an hour. Some kids talked nonstop and the peds surgeon found himself losing his patience sooner than Jordan and Cameron did.

"There really should be a time limit for each family," he complained, checking his watch. "How many of these kids want freaking ponies?"

"Relax. We're almost there," April assured him and casually took his hand.

He looked down at their interlocked fingers. Now that they were openly dating, he supposed there wasn't a problem with innocent hand holding. Logan was dozing off against his shoulder, Cameron clung onto his leg and Jordan tightly clutched April's other hand.

"Mommy, what's taking so long?" Jordan whined. "What if Santa wants to take a nap before it's our turn?"

"Santa doesn't nap, dude," Alex answered with a smirk on his face. "He's never tired. That's why he can drop off presents all over the world in one night."

April smiled at her boyfriend, impressed that he didn't provide a smart ass answer. He had an imaginary fatherly side after all. She already knew he wasn't thrilled about visiting Santa. He could have stood outside of the giant North Pole display or wandered off to a store until they were finished, but he didn't. He was enduring the slow line of crying and screeching kids for the boys. That likely wouldn't have happened when they were residents.

"At least he has an excuse to whine," he murmured. "It _is_ taking long."

"Maybe I should warn you now and let you whine early about the fact that Samantha and her husband are coming over for dinner tonight," she added with a grimace. Alex had a pained expression on his face. Dinner with Jackson's sister since they started dating was going to be nerve wracking. "I know, I know. I should've told you sooner, but I wanted to put you in a good mood for as long as possible."

Alex had a small scowl on his face. "Why are they coming over?" he bitterly replied. "I have no problem with the Quon dude, but can't he just come alone? Sam freaking hates me, probably more now that I'm dating you."

"She kind of just… invited herself," she said, rolling her eyes. "You don't have to talk, okay? Well, unless you really have to. Just don't be a jerk in front of the kids."

"And you know what? I bet she's the real reason why Reynolds won't give me a job at the children's hospital," he speculated. "There probably _is_ room. I mean, it's Stanford. They're loaded. How can they _not_ hire the dude who came up with the project they are now a part of? She must have told him I'd be a crappy coworker or something."

April shook her head. "I think you're paranoid. Samantha doesn't have any control over what happens at the children's hospital. Trust me," she assured him. "And I spoke to Dr. Reynolds after he turned you down. He does want you around, but he would have to make some cuts to make room and he's not ready to do that yet."

"Cuts? As in plural?"

"Yes. You wouldn't be just another one of his attendings there." She gently bit her lower lip and sheepishly grinned at him. "I'm not supposed to be saying anything, but think your fifth year and Hopkins… and me losing my job partly because of that."

He furrowed his eyebrows as he thought long and hard about their fifth year of residency. While he knew April was fired because she failed her boards, he didn't realize pushing Owen to throw more money at him so he wouldn't bail for Hopkins meant that left little room for her. Maybe if he had known Seattle Grace Mercy West would be her last option… then again, he hardly thought about anybody but himself. She was the last person he would have thought of during that time.

"I got you fired?"

"I didn't know that at the time," she insisted. "I just heard some… gossip about it before I went home to Moline. Owen was talking to Webber about using a chunk of his budget to keep you in Seattle, so I made the connections. He did say he couldn't afford to keep me either, so it wasn't all about failing my boards. There was nothing I could really do about it, but it's not a big deal anymore. Everything worked out in the end."

Alex slowly nodded. "So… I got you fired?"

"You didn't get me fired. I got myself fired for not passing my boards the first time. Like I said, it's not a big deal anymore."

"We're next! We're next!" Jordan interrupted their conversation and tugged on April's jacket. "Mommy, it's our turn after those people."

April smiled at her oldest son. "Yup. Do you already know what you want to tell Santa?" She watched him nod eagerly, then she looked at Cameron, whose arms were wrapped around Alex's leg and appearing anxious to meet Santa. "What about you, Cam? Ready to talk to Santa?"

Cameron gazed up at her with a frown on his face. "Santa scare-wee?"

"Oh, no. Santa's friendly!" she replied in a high-pitched voice that made Alex snicker. Kneeling down in front of him, she unwrapped his arms from the peds surgeon's leg. "Don't be scared of him, okay? It'll only take a minute."

When their turn was up Jordan didn't hesitate to run towards the fake Santa sitting on a large red throne. He surprised the man by climbing onto his lap, while April had to forcefully push Cameron towards him. Alex handed Logan to fake Santa and he immediately went for the beard, trying to grab it with his tiny hands. Jordan had been chatting away before his younger brothers could settle on Santa's lap.

Alex took a step back with April as they watched the boys interact with the sixty something-year old man. Eventually, Santa turned his attention to Cameron, asking him if he was a good boy. All he received was a shy nod from the middle child.

The photographer waved at them, so she could take their picture. April stood beside her to help get their attention. She pointed at her mouth, making a smiling motion at them. Jordan and Cameron were easy to work with, but Logan was too infatuated with Santa's beard.

"Logan, over here, sweetie!" April called out, waving her hands. The photographer had a reindeer puppet in one hand, shaking it to make the bells jingle. Even fake Santa was pointing at their direction, but Logan kept his eyes on the beard. "C'mon, baby! Look over here!"

It was almost hopeless, but they weren't going anywhere until Logan finally looked at the camera. Alex instantly felt embarrassed by the weird noises coming out of April's mouth. He wanted to sneak away and pretend he wasn't with them. He decided to take matters into his own hands and give it a shot.

"Dude! Logan, smile for the camera," Alex joined in. He grinned when the baby heard his voice and faced them.

April was shocked to see Alex making funny faces to help Logan smile. Fish face, crossed eyes, anything to make him laugh. It seemed to work since she could hear her baby boy's giggles from where they stood. He distracted all three kids long enough for the photographer to snap a picture of them with Santa. He gathered up the trio, carrying Logan in his arms again and holding Cameron's hand. Jordan appeared to be whispering into fake Santa's ear. Alex noticed the concerned expression on the older man's face as the oldest Avery boy jumped off of his lap.

Whatever Jordan told him, it was definitely worth finding out.

* * *

On the way home, Cameron had fallen asleep in his car seat and Jordan rambled on about why reindeer can fly. Logan blew raspberries from his car seat, probably unimpressed with his oldest brother's theories about flying reindeer.

Alex followed the Avery's into the house dragging his luggage in one hand and carrying Logan in the other. He wasn't surprised by how festive the living room appeared for Christmas. A decorated tree in the corner by the couch, stockings hanging above the fireplace. There were even small decors on the wall, mostly art projects the boys made. The outside of the house wasn't as decorated, though he was certain it would be covered with lights if April had him around to put them up for her.

He sat down on the couch, setting Logan on his lap. April brought a sleeping Cameron upstairs to his bedroom, while Jordan followed her before running off to his own room to play with his toys. So Alex was alone downstairs with the youngest Avery boy.

"So, uhh… have fun meeting Santa?" he asked, trying to strike up a conversation with the 17-month old. Logan simply mimicked him by trying to say Santa back to him. "Cool, dude."

"Dud… doooo. Duh duuude!"

He was bound to say it since his Uncle Alex constantly said the word dude, despite how much April hated it. Dude wasn't a bad word to learn. Better than some of the other words he typically said. Even better than hearing Dada.

"Dude," Alex chuckled.

"Duude!"

"Dude," he repeated.

Logan clapped his hands as he giggled loudly. "Duuude!"

"Alex!" April disrupted the male bonding as she entered the living room. "You're teaching him to say dude?"

"I didn't teach him anything. He said it on his own," he answered defensively. Alex raised his hand in front of Logan and watched him complete the high five. "And you never said I couldn't say dude around him. You only told me not to call you that."

"Fine, you win," she groaned as she sat down beside him and tickled Logan's belly. "Thanks for helping me earlier. I thought I'd have to get him to smile alone."

Alex smirked at her. "Somebody had to put an end to the screeching noises you were making," he teased, receiving a playful slap on the arm from the redhead. He nodded his head towards Logan. "This guy called me Dada again. Does he seriously think I'm his father?"

April slowly shrugged her shoulders. She hadn't taught her baby boy to call Alex that. She also never heard him say it when the peds surgeon wasn't around. Maybe Logan did believe he was his father.

"Who's that, Logan?" she asked, pointing at Alex. Her son mischievously grinned back at her in response. "What's that supposed to mean, silly boy? Oh, gosh. You're toying with me, aren't you? Well, can you say, 'I love you'?"

Alex's throat felt dry. His slip up over the phone a week and a half ago was going to surface eventually, but April may have been speaking directly to Logan. Who wouldn't want to hear their kid say those three words back to them? But he knew there was more to it than she was letting on. That gushy word vomit was pushing its way up. He wanted to keep it down, but he couldn't fight it any longer.

"I love you," he mumbled, covering his mouth with his hand when he blurted it out.

April glanced up at Alex, a smile slowly forming on her face. It was adorable how bashful he was about admitting he loves her. He seemed to even blush a little bit. "I love you too." She pulled his hand away from his mouth and kissed him. "It's okay to say it out loud, Alex."

"I uhh… didn't think you felt the same way," he murmured, half-smiling back at her. "Do you really?"

"Why would I lie to you about that?" she answered his question with her own. "You probably won't believe this either, but you make me happy and I appreciate everything you've done for me even if you don't think it's a big deal. Honestly, I don't know how I could've gotten past Jackson's death without you."

"You had a bunch of people helping you. It wasn't just me," he insisted.

"But I'm not dating them or sleeping with them… or in love with them," she argued. "You're important to me and the boys. Instead of shutting down about your feelings, just be open with me. Also, let me love you because I want to and I _do_ love you."

Jordan called out for April from upstairs prompting her to check on him. And Alex was alone yet again with Logan. She had a point, though. Despite being happy and content with April, he persisted on hiding some of his feelings from her. But telling her he loved her was a major step in their relationship. It was still fairly new and slightly dysfunctional because of the long distance. And there was no doubt in his mind that she was never going to stop loving Jackson, which he hated thinking about.

He looked down at Logan and sighed. "What do you have to say about that?"

"Dada!" the baby chirped, flashing a grin at Alex.

"C'mon, kid. Don't do this to me," he begged with a frown on his face. "Call me a dodo or dude, whatever you want. Just don't call me that. It's freaking me out. Maybe when I marry your mom it'll be cool, but that probably won't happen for a long time – if there's a chance it could happen. Who knows if she even wants to marry me, you know? Why be a Karev when you got a name like Avery?"

Would April even consider changing her name _again_? Avery-Karev would sound like he married Jackson or one of his annoying sisters. Maybe he could convince her to revert back to Kepner. He missed calling her Kepner, but there was nothing wrong with Karev either. He didn't want to think too far ahead, though.

* * *

Dinner with Samantha and her husband, David, was exactly how Alex pictured it to be – unbearable. As usual, Jackson's oldest sister did the majority of the talking, while the neurosurgeon stayed clear of her wrath and remained quiet. It was obvious to Alex who wore the pants in their marriage, yet he had trouble understanding why anybody would marry Samantha in the first place. The same could be said about himself, but he didn't consider himself as arrogant and often cold hearted like April's sister-in-law.

If the Avery boys hadn't been eating dinner with them, the conversations would likely be more hostile and dreadful. The first topic brought up was Alex's Africa project expanding to Stanford. April did her part in bragging about how successful it had been since their fourth year of residency, but Samantha had her own opinions regarding the project.

"Wouldn't it be better to fly yourself to Africa instead?" she inquired, sounding skeptical. "I'm sure each patient costs thousands to fly them from their respective countries and back. Why not just send a team over there? It doesn't waste as much money."

Alex stared at Samantha dumbfounded. "Not every hospital in Africa has the sufficient care that we have in the States," he retorted. "The point of the program is to help families who don't have access to that type of care. You work for a world class hospital. People from all over are sent to Stanford all the time. You should know that by now."

At the end of round one: Alex 1, Samantha 0.

That part of the conversation quickly died down, so April brought up a much lighter topic – taking the kids to visit Santa at the shopping center. She knew Samantha couldn't care less about it, but it was better than listening to her bicker with Alex.

"Jordan, why don't you tell Aunt Samantha about how nice Santa was?" the trauma surgeon suggested.

"Yes, sweetie pie. Tell me about your visit," she politely ordered, smiling and pretending to be interested.

The 6-year old immediately grinned widely at everybody. "Santa asked me if I was a good boy and I said I've been super good even though I gots the chick'n pox before Christmas. And he said I'm the best big brother ever!" he excitedly recalled. "And before we went home, he asked me if I wanted anything special for Christmas."

"And what did you ask for?"

Alex flashed back to watching Jordan whisper something into fake Santa's ear. What came out of the little boy's mouth surprised all four adults at the dinner table.

"Since he's magical I asked him to bring back Daddy!" Jordan proudly stated.

Samantha cleared her throat to break the silence in the dining room. "We all wish he was back, dear," she softly replied, then she looked directly at Alex. "His presence is definitely needed here. Things would be more stable if Jackson hadn't left us."

He forced himself to bite the inside of his cheek. It was her way of revenge for his previous comments. She smirked, while he scowled back at her.

End of round two: Alex 1, Samantha 1.

"So, you two are dating," the cardio surgeon casually mentioned. "How is that working out for you? The long distance must really be frustrating. How do you maintain your self-control, Alex?"

"What do you mean?" he replied in annoyance.

Samantha sipped her wine before she responded, "My brother once told me stories about your past. Not exactly a settling down type of guy from what I've heard." She rested her elbows on the table, folding her hands and placing them underneath her chin. "So, how do you do it?"

Alex inhaled sharply as he clenched his fists on top of the table. "That sh- stuff was a long time ago. I'm not like that anymore," he grumbled. He refused to make himself look like an asshole in front of the kids, but Samantha had been pushing his buttons since she arrived at the house. "You honestly think I'd backstab April?"

April softly groaned. "Can we please not do this in front of the boys?"

"I'm simply trying to get to know your new boyfriend, April," her sister-in-law smugly claimed. She smiled at her nephews. "Boys, how would you feel if your Uncle Alex became your new daddy?"

"Da-da-da-da!" Logan babbled, pointing at Alex.

Alex ducked his head, covering his face with his hand. What he _didn't_ want to happen, especially in front of Samantha freaking Avery, just happened. Avoiding eye contact with her, he carefully glanced at April, who appeared uncomfortable as she sported a forced a smile. If only he could close his eyes, count to three and return to Seattle in a single snap.

"Excuse me, but did my nephew just call _you_ Dada?" Samantha asked appalled. She furrowed her eyebrows at April. "Mother will not be pleased to hear about this one."

"That's not Daddy, Logan!" Jordan scolded his brother. "Daddy's dead, remember?"

"Jordan!" April snapped. "That's an inappropriate thing to say during dinner."

"Well, it's inappropriate to be teaching your son to call another man Daddy, don't you think?" Samantha intervened.

The normally level headed and perky woman finally lost her composure, excusing herself from the table as she rushed out of the dining room. Her resilience against Samantha's bullying broke down, but she couldn't let her sons see how hurt she was.

And Alex had had enough of the cardio surgeon's snarky attitude. He would be sporting bruised knuckles if she was a man and the children weren't in the same room as them. The insults towards him didn't bother him as much as the way she was treating April. She didn't deserve that.

"Dude, you've got a lot of nerve coming into April's home and parading around like you're so much better than us," he angrily said, pushing himself up to his feet. He planned on keeping it as clean as possible with the boys watching him curiously. "As far as I know, she's always been kind to you and you constantly treat her like dirt. I get that you freaking hate me or whatever, but don't take it out on her. And you know what else? I love that woman and I'm not going to let you disrespect her or me. Jackson would be so damn disappointed in the way you're acting."

"If Jackson was here, you wouldn't be in the picture at all," Samantha bluntly said. "And it doesn't matter how much April loves you because she will always love my brother more. I'm doing you a favor by giving you a chance to run. Isn't running what you're apparently good at?"

Before Alex countered her next insult, April returned from hiding. "Y-you need to leave. Right now," she demanded, quickly wiping away a tear that rolled down her cheek. Sternly staring at her sister-in-law, she pointed towards the direction of the front door. "I mean it. Get out of my house."

End of round three: April won by KO.

As Samantha and David left her home in silence, April buried her face into Alex's shoulder and bawled all over again. He quietly comforted her, rubbing her back with his hand and kissing her forehead.

"She had no right saying those things to you," she mumbled against his shoulder.

"Why's Mommy crying?" Jordan asked, frowning at Alex. "Is it cause I talked about Daddy?"

April turned around and approached her oldest son. "No, it's not your fault, baby," she assured him, kissing the top of his head. "Umm… grown up stuff. Don't worry about it any of it, okay? How about you and Cameron play upstairs? I'll come up after you in a bit for your baths."

She helped Cameron climb off of his chair before she escorted her two sons towards the stairs. Jordan hugged his mother after walking up two steps. "Don't be sad, Mommy," he soothingly said, then he took Cameron's hand and led him upstairs. She almost lost her composure again after receiving comfort from her little boy.

Returning to the dining room, she found Alex playing with Logan as a way to cheer himself up. His squeaky giggles and bright smile partially eased away the tension in the room. It didn't matter how pissed off he was a minute ago. The little dude's cheerful mood never failed to erase the Karev scowl on his face.

"I hate it here," April sullenly stated. "Maybe moving here wasn't the best fit after all."

"You seriously want to work under _Banks_ at Seattle Grace?" He rolled his eyes in disgust. "Don't give up Stanford because your sister-in-law's such a bi-"

"Don't you want me back in Seattle?" she interrupted.

"Of course I do, but-"

"Then, what's the problem?" she asked in frustration. "Beg Hunt to give me my job back. I'll move in with you. We'll be fine because we're living in the same state again. Jordan will be happy to see his old friends again. I'm sick of this place!"

Alex placed his hands on April's shoulders. "Hey, calm down for a minute. I'm just as pissed as you are at Samantha for the crap she said, but the current job you have is ten times better than what you'd have in Seattle," he reassured her.

"But I'm freaking lonely here, Alex! Don't you understand? When you're not here I have nobody. I probably have three real friends at Stanford and that doesn't include Samantha, but they have their own set of friends," she whined, taking a step back from her boyfriend. "I would prefer being locked in the morgue with Cristina than staying here."

"Well, you just gotta suck it up."

"Oh, that's great advice," April scoffed, rolling her eyes as she picked up Logan from his high chair. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one who lost a husband seven months ago and has to take care of three boys by yourself, while being criticized by your sister-in-law every chance she gets."

Alex rested his hands on top of his head and sighed when April stormed out of the dining room with Logan. He wanted to be supportive, but she was too stubborn to listen. And she had suddenly grown incredibly moody. It was hard to blame her, though. Dealing with in-laws was a pain in the ass – not that he had any experience with that, but Samantha was the in-law from Hell. He decided to give her space to cool off, so he spent his time stacking the dishes and cleaning them up for her. He hoped she would at least be grateful for that.

* * *

April rolled over in her sleep to snuggle closer to Alex, but she landed on open space. She opened her eyes and to her surprise, he wasn't beside her. They hadn't spoken to each other as much before they went to bed. The dinner fiasco with Samantha drained both of them emotionally and all they wanted to do was close their eyes and forget about what happened. But she worried he fled again. This time, he had a reason to. Still, she hoped he didn't take Samantha's advice and run back to Seattle.

Slipping out of her bed, she walked through her dark bedroom. She tripped over Alex's luggage, which was a good sign. He hadn't fled, but she wondered where he went. Before searching for him, she checked on each boy in their bedrooms. All of them were sleeping peacefully. She felt terrible for them because they were forced to witness the banter between Alex and their Aunt Samantha. And she felt even more terrible when Jordan thought it was his fault.

She wasn't expecting him to bring up Jackson the way he did. Having both Samantha _and_ Alex in the room together when Jordan shared with everybody what he asked Santa for Christmas couldn't be more awkward and uncomfortable for her. She hoped fake Santa hadn't made any promises to her son because it would be one depressing Christmas if Jordan woke up and Jackson wasn't in the living room to greet him.

It was quiet downstairs. The living room was empty as was the kitchen. Where did Alex go?

She found him outside in the backyard. Accompanied by some empty beer bottles, Alex sat on a lawn chair by the swimming pool drinking a newly opened beer. He struggled to fall asleep, so he decided to pass the time with the pack of beer from the refrigerator.

"Alex?" she softly called out as she approached him. April rubbed her arms with her hands to keep herself warm. "What are you doing out here? It's cold."

"I couldn't sleep," he muttered.

"Yeah, I can see that." She grabbed the bottle from his hand, setting it aside before she pointed at the house. "Come back inside. You're going to get sick and I don't want the kids catching something from you on Christmas."

"Whatever."

"Don't _whatever_ me," she scolded him, resting her hands against her hips. "I'm really sorry for what happened earlier at dinner, but sitting outside in the freezing cold isn't going to help the matter. Come inside with me right now."

Arguing with her would only make the situation worse, so he surrendered by standing up and following her into the house. They returned to her bedroom where he sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor.

"I thought you left again," she said while she took a seat beside him.

"I didn't plan on leaving," he insisted. "I'm just pissed about a lot of things at the moment. Samantha's probably right about most of the crap she said. I tried not to let them get to me, but she's not entirely wrong. I'm never gonna match up to Jackson."

April shook her head. "I don't want you to compare yourself to Jackson. You can't let the things she said bother you. She's always going to favor him because she's his sister. And you may think she's over his death, but I know she's not. She just has a horrible way of dealing with her loss. I don't think she'll ever accept it."

"Have you?"

"There are days when I do, but there are days when I don't," she admitted. Placing her chin against his shoulder, she caressed his back with her hand and sighed. "Jackson's dead and he's not coming back. I wouldn't have been able to say that five months ago."

"So you don't see me as your second option because Jackson's dead?"

"No. You're just Alex to me." She kissed his cheek before she whispered into his ear, "And I love you."

Alex tilted his head to the side, gently resting it against April's forehead. "Love you too," he replied, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer to his side. "Are you uhh, still desperate to return to Seattle? Because I think you should stay here."

"I do want to stay, but what about you?"

"Don't worry about me," he assured her. "Let me figure that part out."

* * *

A plus sign. A happy face. Two pink lines. Yes. Pregnant. Five pregnancy tests were scattered on the floor in front of April, who was sitting back against the shower door clutching her knees tightly close to her chest. Each test said something different, but the result was the same.

It was just a hunch, a feeling she had during Christmas Eve Mass of all places. She blamed the nativity play performed by the children in the middle of the service. Watching the baby Jesus being "born" caused her to think about the possibility of having another baby. Plus, being ten days late made her paranoid, but she didn't want to worry Alex over nothing if she wasn't pregnant.

She snuck out in the early hours of Christmas morning to buy a pregnancy test – more like five to be on the safe side. Instead of taking them immediately, she waited until all of the boys were awake and eating the breakfast she prepared for them. Alex kept them company downstairs, which gave her enough time to sneak away and take the tests.

When she read the first result she hadn't panicked… until the second, third, fourth and fifth tests also came out positive. She had been taking birth control since she started dating Alex, but she already learned how there was always that 1% chance it was ineffective. Cameron was her proof, though she and Jackson had been thrilled about having another baby after Jordan. This was different.

Because this would be her fourth child – and her first with Alex. Did he even want any kids other than the ones he already helped take care of? Would he even take the news well?

"April, Cam spilled orange juice all over his shirt, so do you want me to just throw it in the washer or whatever?" Alex opened the bathroom door, but it was too late for the trauma surgeon to hide the pregnancy tests from him. She remained in her sitting position, though her eyes were wide open as she gazed up at him. He spotted the tests and knelt down on the floor to get a better look at them. "Dude…"

He was speechless after he picked up one of the tests and read the result. She nervously bit down on her lower lip, then she forced herself to laugh. "Merry Christmas."


	13. Chapter 13

**As always, thanks for the reviews! I know I update this one a little slower than my other fic, but I thank everyone who's still reading this, especially since the fandom for this ship has kinda died.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Knocked up. Of course, April preferred using the term pregnant instead, but this surprise certainly threw Alex for a loop. They had only gotten past Hurricane Samantha two days before, something April wasn't quite ready to forgive her sister-in-law for. The peds surgeon was still getting used to being in a long distance relationship, one that he considered was in the honeymoon phase – everything lovely and problem free. But this bombshell changed their relationship at the drop of a hat… more like pee. His head was almost spinning after he read the results of April's pregnancy tests. Five out of five were positive. He highly doubted they were all false positives.

Merry freakin' Christmas indeed.

She couldn't wipe off the frightened expression on her face. How could she not? A baby most definitely wasn't in their plans anytime soon. Maybe she wouldn't have felt so scared if she and Alex were together for longer than three months.

And if they were living under the same roof, let alone the same state.

_And_ if Jackson hadn't just passed away earlier that year.

When she thought about her late husband, Catherine immediately popped in her head. What would her mother-in-law think about the news? She didn't mind Alex as her boyfriend, but having a child with him would shock her – and the rest of the Avery's.

Then, there was Samantha, who she couldn't avoid at work no matter how hard she tried. They were bound to work together again if a cardio case arrived in the ER. She already showed her displeasure in April and Alex's budding relationship. It was possible she might suffer from a myocardial infarction upon hearing the news about her pregnancy. And while she hadn't seen or spoken to Joslyn Avery in months, she dreaded her reaction just as much. She would have to call Libby and Kimmie to fly into California to protect her from the Avery sisters.

Unlike his girlfriend, Alex didn't exactly have close relatives to share the news with. He only spoke to Amber Karev whenever he sent her money once a month. And Astrid Karev – he couldn't remember the last time he had contacted his mother. The people he considered family were his coworkers at Seattle Grace Mercy West. He expected most of them to find the entire situation amusing, especially Cristina. He could already hear her jokes about bringing an Evil Spawnling into the world with April, the woman with an angelic vagina.

He was crouched down on the floor, his eyes hypnotized by the various pregnancy tests in front of him. The unexpected news would have been more entertaining had it been April Fool's Day.

"Alex… say something," April ended the silence in the bathroom. They were both speechless for at least two minutes.

"When did you buy these?"

"Earlier when you were all asleep. I snuck out," she murmured against her knees. "B-but that's not what I was asking. Umm, how do you feel about… the pregnancy? I want an honest answer from you."

Alex cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes, checking to see if he was hallucinating or not. The tests remained on the floor, which made him slightly grimace. There was no way they could fully process everything before he returned to Seattle. "Well… I was just hoping for a jacket for Christmas."

April scowled at her boyfriend. "Not the time to be joking around!"

"Can you give me some time to let this sink in for a second?" he retorted, sitting flat on the floor with his arms resting on top of his knees. "Okay, the tests are positive, but we should do a blood test anyway just to be sure or whatever. You're the Queen of Precautions, so it's not a bad idea."

"Do you want this, Alex?" she asked worriedly. "Assuming I'm definitely pregnant, would you still want to be with me?"

"This isn't how I wanted things to work out between us, but do you seriously think I'll abandon you when my kid's growing inside of you?" Alex crawled towards April when he noticed the tears flowing out of her eyes. He sat beside her, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "I got your back, okay? I just… didn't think I could knock you up this fast. I mean, we haven't been screwing like rabbits and you said you started taking birth control again."

She rested her head against his shoulder as the tears trickled down her cheeks. "Birth control didn't stop me from having Cameron," she recalled. "I want to be happy about this, but we weren't even in the moving in phase yet. I can't go through this pregnancy with you visiting only once a month."

"I can come down every weekend if I have to or…" A light bulb suddenly turned on inside of his head. He snapped his fingers and smiled. "This is perfect!"

"_What_?" April stared back at Alex appalled. She folded her arms, confused at his abrupt mood change. "How is an unplanned pregnancy perfect? It's far from perfect. It's complicated!"

He raised his hands in front of his chest. "Listen to me first. If we're having a baby together, this could help me land the job at Stanford. Once Reynolds finds out we're expecting, he can't keep us apart, you know?" Pressing his hand against his girlfriend's abdomen, he continued to smile. "This baby's a freaking blessing in disguise."

"Are you kidding me right now?" she snapped. "I only found out I'm pregnant like five minutes ago! And you're already using this baby as an excuse to get a job down here? What if- what if I have a hostile uterus like Meredith? My body could've changed since I had Logan. There are no guarantees yet that this baby will survive!"

"Isn't this what you want, though? For me to move down here?" he replied, slightly agitated. "What the hell are you getting pissed at me for? I told you I'm in. You and I both know the odds of me working down here just got better because of that baby."

April groaned. "You're allowed to be thrilled about this because you're not the one who has to go through another nine months of bloating, heart burn, swollen feet and bursting bladders," she argued, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. "And it's not that simple. What do you think the Avery's will say about this? Samantha despises you, Alex."

"Frankly, I don't give a crap about that egotistical snob," Alex scoffed. "Would you rather go through the bloating, heart burn, swollen feet and busting bladders alone or have me here taking care of you 24/7? The answer's a no brainer, April. I have to be here if we're going to have a baby together."

"Of course I want you here, but can we stick to present time before we start planning ahead? I don't even know how far along I am."

"Well, it has to be at least four weeks," he speculated. "We haven't screwed since you were in Seattle for Thanksgiving. Before that, we screwed-"

"And stop saying _screwed_! Every time you say that word, it sounds like we're just having monthly hook ups instead of a relationship," April scolded him. She closed her eyes, taking long, deep breaths. "I already had one child out of wedlock. Actually, _two_ since I was pregnant with Cameron before I married Jackson."

Alex swallowed hard. He knew April was the type of person who admired tradition. Jordan was alive longer than his parents were married. He hoped the marriage card wouldn't be brought up. If she was implying they get married soon, he couldn't tell her no at the risk of ruining their relationship. But he also wasn't ready for marriage either. In a span of a few minutes, he had just learned he was going to be a father. Not a stepfather but a biological father to a kid he helped create. That was enough news for him to endure for now.

Maybe if they had been together for at least six months, he would consider proposing to her. He did love her, but he had done the marriage deal once and he got burned. However, the situation he was in now was very different from Izzie's. It wasn't fair to compare cancer to a baby, though there was one way he could relate them to each other – he was all in. He refused to give up on Izzie even after she left him and he wasn't planning on giving up on April either.

"So uhh… should we get hitched then?" he awkwardly suggested.

April raised both of her eyebrows in surprise. "Umm… right now?"

"Yeah, we'll round up the boys, find the nearest chapel and get married in our pajamas," he sarcastically said, then he rolled his eyes. "No. Obviously, not right now. If you want do the big wedding thing, then I guess it's cool with me. Whatever."

"I really hope that's not your way of proposing."

"Maybe if you hadn't mentioned the whole child out of wedlock crap-"

"Oh, so it's _my_ fault? I bet it's my fault too that my birth control failed. How do you know it's not your stubborn super sperm's fault? It probably scowled its way into one of my eggs!" April threw her arms up in frustration. "My hormones are raging again, so could you be a little bit more sensitive, please? And who's supposed to be watching the kids downstairs?!"

Alex grimaced as April angrily pushed herself up from the floor and stormed out of the bathroom. He lightly banged the back of his head against the shower door, letting out a sigh as he shook his head. Those freaking hormones were going to drive him nuts until Baby Karev was born.

* * *

After tossing the pregnancy tests in the trash can, Alex rejoined the others downstairs. April rallied up the tiny troops from the kitchen, so they could open their presents. Unlike the mood upstairs in the bathroom, it was much lighter in the living room. His girlfriend was back to her perky mood, prepping the video camera to record her boys unwrapping the many gifts laid out in front of them.

Logan slapped his hands against the colorful wrapped boxes, giggling at the sounds they made. Cameron eyed his presents closely as if he was trying to figure out what could be inside. Jordan was growing impatient, sneaking in a rip or two when April wasn't looking.

"Mommy, is it time yet?" the eldest Avery boy whined.

"Almost, baby. Have some patience," she answered, then she gestured her hand towards Logan. "Alex, could you sit with him, please? He can't open those presents on his own."

Alex sat down on the floor behind Logan, picking him up and setting him on his lap. "Let's see what you got for Christmas, dude." He snickered when the tiny human repeated dude to him, to April's dismay. "Ready, April?"

April held up her video camera after she pressed the record button. "Alright, open your presents!" she chirped.

One by one, the boys started unwrapping their presents in very different ways. Jordan relentlessly ripped apart each gift after being impatient for so long, whereas Cameron took his precious time neatly separating the parts attached with tape. His older brother couldn't care less about ruining the colorful wrapping paper April used. By the time the middle child finished unwrapping his first present, Jordan was on his final gift.

"It's okay to rip the wrapping paper, honey," the trauma surgeon encouraged Cameron. "Neatness doesn't matter right now."

"I like da paper," he bashfully replied.

April laughed as Cameron continued his own routine of unwrapping his presents. She checked on her oldest son, whose eyes were wide open as they bounced around from one toy to another. "Get everything you wanted, Jordan?"

"My Hot Wheels set!" he excitedly pointed at the box featuring two Hot Wheels cars racing through a designed track. "It's the one with the loops! I wanted this one the mostest!"

"Well, you can thank your Uncle Alex for that one. That gift is from him," she acknowledged. "Go thank him, dear."

Jordan shot up from his spot on the floor and ran towards Alex. He flung his arms around the peds surgeon's shoulders, hugging him at tightly as he could. "Thank you, Uncle Alex! How did you know I wanted that?"

"Lucky guess. You're welcome, dude," Alex chuckled.

The truth was April sent him a small list of what he could buy for each boy since he had no idea what to get them for Christmas. She was much better at figuring out presents than he was, so he decided to roll with it. The only gift he needed to pick out on his own was his girlfriend's and that took more work than a routine appendectomy. He hardly considered himself a present type of guy. Maybe it was because he was used to not being on the receiving end, so buying for others was pointless if he got nothing in return. But knowing April, she wouldn't forget him on her favorite holiday and he would come off as a total ass if he didn't get her anything.

Turning his attention back to Logan's presents, he unwrapped one of them to reveal a small blue car that the 17-month old can ride in by himself. "Whoa! You already have a nicer car than I do," Alex playfully said. The baby responded with what he knew best – by beating up the box with his hands.

All three Avery boys were also given matching pairs of Air Jordan's, a tradition Jackson started since Jordan was a year old. April decided to keep it going, so they would always be reminded of their father as they grew older. Although, they would probably give her grief over the matching part when they all reached double digit ages.

Jordan was obsessed with his new Hot Wheels toy, attempting to assemble the tracks without help because he was a self-proclaimed big boy. Cameron was enamored by his LeapFrog reading books and how it spoke to him using a simple pen. And Logan… well, he entertained himself by burying himself underneath the piles of wrapping paper on the floor.

All of them were occupied with things to do, which allowed April and Alex to exchange their own presents for each other on the couch. Fortunately, he made it loud it and clear to her what he wanted for Christmas.

"Sweet jacket," he happily stated, lifting the chocolate colored bomber jacket from the box. He tried it on, smiling as he ran his hand against the smooth leather and the various pockets. "This is… not what I was expecting, but it's freaking nice."

"Is it too much?" April anxiously questioned. "I… I thought it suited you. I mean, it looks really good on you, but I wasn't sure if you'd like it. There was also a black one, so if you don't like the color-"

He silenced her rambling with a soft kiss. "It's fine. Thanks for the jacket and…" Placing his hand against her abdomen like he did in the bathroom, he whispered, "…the little ankle biter in there."

She let out a sigh of relief. "So, despite my horrible outburst earlier, you're okay with… as you call it, little ankle biter?"

"Yeah. Our kid's already destined to be All-State in wrestling. It'll have a ton of practice rolling around in your belly as it grows bigger," he teased, drawing a laugh from April. "You'll let this one wrestle, right?"

"Do I have a choice?" she lightheartedly retorted.

Alex shook his head, grinning mischievously at her. "Nope. I'll let you make all of the other decisions if you let me sign this kid up for wrestling," he proposed. "Fair?"

April kissed his cheek. "Fine. This child can wrestle, but I'd rather we make decisions together." The doorbell rang and she immediately grew curious. "Who could that be? Oh, gosh. I hope it's not Samantha. I'm not ready to face her yet."

"Why don't you answer the door?" he innocently suggested. "Could be anybody."

He watched her stand up and make her way to the front door. Counting down on his fingers, he heard her opening the door, which was followed by a mixture of a gasp and a scream. A happy scream, that is.

While she wasn't ready for anymore surprises, the latest one was a nice breath of fresh air. Karen and her three sisters were standing outside with bright smiles on their faces. April almost had to pinch herself because she had spoken to all four of them earlier that morning thinking they were celebrating Christmas in Moline.

"What- what are you doing here?" she asked, unable to stop grinning. "I can't believe you're here!"

"Thank your boyfriend," Alice answered, inviting herself in and hugging April. "He arranged all of this. After we found out you couldn't come home for Christmas, he approached me at work and brought up the idea of us surprising you instead. He paid for all of our flights."

"Alex?" April softly chuckled as she pulled away from her youngest sister.

She waved for the others to come inside. She couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present than having her mother and sisters in the same state as her. And she fully hadn't expected Alex to reach out to them the way he did, especially when her family had just learned of their relationship weeks ago.

Greeting each family member, she saved Kimmie for last. It had been over five months since they last saw each other in person and it was during the weekend of Logan's first birthday. She was thrilled to have her entire immediate family around for Christmas with the exception of Big Joe, but she always believed he was around watching them.

"Wait a minute. What about the rest of the family? Carl? Tom? All of the kids?" she inquired.

"Shipped them to the in-laws," Libby replied and laughed. "But they're completely okay with it. We were able to Skype with them this morning. More importantly, we're here for you and who passes up a free plane ride?"

April folded her hands and squealed as she rested them underneath her chin. "This is… oh, gosh. I'm so happy you're all here," she tearfully said, blinking her eyes to push back the waterworks. "This is so exciting and overwhelming at the same time. How long have you been hiding here?"

"Since yesterday. We were staying at a hotel – which Alex also paid for," Kimmie noted, then she playfully nudged her older sister. "Who knew this guy could be so decent?"

"He's more than decent. He's great," she gushed. "How long are you all here?"

"Until January 5th, so you've got almost a full two weeks of us," Alice responded and pointed at herself. "Yes, even me. Alex talked to Hunt and he's allowing me to stay here for that long. Of course, I had to give up a huge chunk of my vacation days, but it's worth it."

April led them into the living room, clapping her hands to get her sons' attention. "Boys, look who's here! It's Grandma Karen, Auntie Libby, Auntie Kimmie and Auntie Alice! Come over here and greet them," she instructed. Jordan and Cameron dropped what they were doing and ran towards their relatives, while Logan got lost underneath the pile of wrapping paper.

Alex volunteered to go fetch him, picking him up from the floor and holding him above his head as Logan giggled. He carried him towards the Kepner women and handed him to Karen. "Merry Christmas," he awkwardly greeted them, resting his hand against April's back. "I'm not the biggest sap around, but uhh… don't hold that against me. Being cheerful was never my strongest asset."

"Nice jacket, Karev," Alice said, pointing at the chocolate jacket Alex forgot to remove. "I'm glad April's helping you out with your fashion sense because you totally needed a makeover."

"I can still assign you scut even when we're outside of the hospital," he jokingly warned her. "No longer being an intern doesn't mean you can't get scut."

Karen smiled at the peds surgeon. "Alex, we're all very grateful for your generosity. I'll admit, I wasn't sure you could do it, but you're taking care of April wonderfully," she replied and gave him a hug. "Hopefully, you'll continue to surprise me with this side of you."

He nervously laughed, wondering how she would react to him knocking up her daughter. If he had to choose, he preferred revealing the news to the Kepner side over the Avery's. They may be more understanding about it than Jackson's family, but that didn't make him feel any less uneasy about telling everyone he and April were expecting.

* * *

Having April's family in town gave her and Alex the opportunity to sneak out of the house. They were about 99% positive she was pregnant, but after he suggested a blood test earlier that morning, she wanted to be on the safe side and take one anyway. April told them her boyfriend had a meeting with Dr. Reynolds of the children's hospital – on Christmas of all days, which didn't sound very convincing, but they bought the excuse regardless. She also claimed to have received a page from one of her residents on duty, so she insisted on tagging along.

Stanford Hospital was large, but Samantha was lurking around somewhere. Holidays were work days for her, so there was no doubt in April's mind her sister-in-law was working that day. They cautiously checked their surroundings for her, but thankfully, they made it into an examination room without being noticed.

Alex noticed she appeared to be lost in thought while he drew her blood. "You okay?"

"Hmm?" She quickly shook her head and smiled at him. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

"Are you telling me the truth?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes, honest." Using her free arm, she reached up and placed her hand against Alex's cheek. "I can't thank you enough for your Christmas present. It means a lot to me having my mom and sisters here, especially now."

"You know family and I don't normally mesh well together, but you were upset about not being able to go home because of Queen Ice Bitch-" He chuckled when she lightly punched his arm. "And anyway, Alice was on my service when the idea came up. She agreed it would be cool to surprise you, but I had to promise her something as well."

"Which was?"

Alex finished drawing her blood and removed the needle from her arm. "That I improve my relationship with my sister," he muttered, his face showing how uncomfortable he was talking about his family. "Because you're close with yours or whatever and I guess she heard me mention I have a sister of my own, so… I don't know. I've never really been close to Amber. She was a freakin' baby when we got put into foster care. And the last time I saw her in person, she was in the hospital after my brother tried to kill her. That was eight years ago. She was sixteen then."

April had only learned bits and pieces about his family, but none of the information came from Alex himself. During their residency, she had heard of Aaron Karev's surprise visit, but she didn't know the full details. Years later, Lexie was helping Izzie catch up with the gossip at the hospital when she returned to Seattle and the curious redhead overheard what had happened between the two brothers during his visit. Unlike herself, Alex didn't openly talk about his siblings or his parents. She could ramble for hours about her sisters and growing up on the farm. He would probably only spend a minute talking about his past.

"So… you don't talk to your family at all?"

"I've got a schizophrenic and depressed mom, a schizophrenic brother and a sister I barely know," he unenthusiastically answered, covering the red dot on April's arm with a piece of cotton and tape. "And my dad… well, he was a bastard. That's all you need to know."

"Umm, is your sister doing alright, though?" she questioned curiously. "Is she in Iowa?"

Alex threw away his gloves and opened the door. "Let's drop this off at the lab, okay?"

April followed him out into the hallway with a frown on her face. After dropping off a small test tube of her blood, she took his hand and led him into an empty on-call room. Sitting down on the bed, she patted the space beside her and waited for him to take a seat. He misunderstood her intentions and kissed her, thinking they were finally taking advantage of the time they had alone together.

"No, wait. Stop for a second," she ordered, politely pushing Alex away. "That wasn't why I brought you in here."

He groaned in frustration. "I don't want to talk about my family or get all deep about my feelings or whatever."

"Alex, we're going to have a baby together. If we're going to live together and eventually get married, you need to be more open with me. You can't hide your feelings whenever you don't want to talk," she advised, softly rubbing his shoulder. "There have been times when you were okay with being open. This shouldn't be any different."

"Are you a therapist now?" he retorted, falling back onto the mattress.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm the mother of your child, so I'm allowed to dig into your personal life," she argued. Lying down beside him, she rested her head on his chest. "Talk to me. Please?"

He took a deep breath and sighed. "Amber's still in Iowa," he started, wrapping his arm around her waist. "She's in her last year of college. I've been paying for her tuition because she can't afford it herself. I know there's financial aid, but I guess I owe it to her to do something nice for her. After high school, she spent the next two years taking care of our mom alone. Making sure she took her pills, working a few part-time jobs so they had a roof to live under. She was basically alone."

"That… doesn't sound like you barely know your sister, Alex. It sounds like you know enough about her," she noted, lightly caressing his abdomen with her fingertips. "How often do you talk to Amber?"

"We only talk once a month just to ensure she got the money I sent, but it's not like we get into the personal stuff. I'm doing my thing in Seattle and she's got her own crap in Iowa. She and I don't have that closeness you have with your sisters."

"And your mom? How is she doing?"

Alex grimaced in response. He had hoped nobody would ever find out what happened to his mother. Not even Meredith knew this little known fact. "She's… she's in a nuthouse. Just like my brother," he reluctantly said. "Uhh, she tried to kill herself once, when Amber was 20. She went out for like 30 minutes just to buy a freaking carton of milk and when she came home she found our mom lying on the bathroom floor. There was blood all over the place. She slit her wrists."

April gasped, lifting her head to look at Alex. "Oh, gosh. That must've been awful. What happened after that?"

"My mom barely made it, but at that point Amber couldn't deal with it anymore," he glumly answered. "She called me, told me what went down. I offered to fly over there and help her sort everything out, but she refused. So I sent her money and she had our mom committed by herself. When that was all over she was able to finally make decisions without someone else being the first priority. It was tough for her, though, to put her in a nuthouse. I had Aaron committed after he tried to kill Amber. Now, she kind of had to do the same, but it sucked for her because all she had was our mom. Somebody had to watch her since I didn't have the balls to, but you know what? Amber would've gone nowhere until our mom croaked or whatever. She needed to free herself from that mess."

"Where is she studying?"

"University of Iowa. Smart choice," he boasted. "Decided to go the nursing route. Taking care of our mom for so long raised her interest in caring for other people. Good for her, though. She didn't grow up to become screwed up like the rest of my family. I'd say she's more impressive than I am because she chose to stick around at home. Got her throat slit for it too."

"That's how Aaron tried to kill her?" she asked with a pained expression on her face.

Alex slowly nodded his head. "From ear to ear," he muttered, demonstrating the motion with his finger. "He narrowly missed her carotid. She's got this huge scar on her neck. I haven't actually seen it, but you and I both know a cut that big will leave a nasty scar."

April sighed as she sat up on the bed. "I already know you'll hate this idea, but… one of these days, she should visit you in Seattle or… here… if you're living here by then," she nervously suggested. "You made a promise to Alice. She doesn't take broken promises lightly."

"Just because I opened up to you it doesn't mean I have to fulfill my promise now," he irritably replied. "We have enough issues to deal with. Telling your family, our friends in Seattle, the freaking Avery's about the baby – my sister is the least of our worries. The reunion will have to wait. I may not even be alive for it. Sam might murder me after she finds out I knocked you up."

"She's not going to murder you," she chuckled. "Besides, I won't let her."

Alex pressed his palm against April's lower abdomen once again. Their tiny runt was like a magnet. He couldn't keep his hand away from it for too long. "I can't believe my freaking kid's in there. I hope I don't screw it up like I've screwed a lot of things up."

"What makes you think you'll screw it up?" She covered his hand with her own and smiled. "I've seen you plenty of times with the boys. You've always been great with them. And Logan's attached to you. You'll be an amazing father, Alex."

"I never thought I could ever _be_ a father period. Mine was the opposite of amazing," he replied in disgust. "If I hadn't stood up to him and kicked his ass, he probably would've beaten all of us to death. The man was completely heartless."

"Which is what you're not," April assured him and leaned forward, kissing him softly on the lips. "Always remember that."

* * *

Not that it was a surprise to them, but the blood test officially confirmed the pregnancy. April's hCG level implied she was around four weeks, though she set up an appointment with one of her colleagues for the following day. The perks of being friends with the Head of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

She and Alex arrived home a little half past noon. Waiting for her results took about two hours, but being the Head of Trauma allowed her the privilege of moving herself up the line. Without her status, they might have been at the hospital for longer. On the way home, she struggled to figure out a way to announce to her family she was expecting again. She wanted to tell them as casually as possible, but if she wasn't under trauma related pressure, she normally resorted to blurting out the information in a state of panic. This would likely be one of those cases.

Her family was in the living room watching Jordan show off his shiny new Hot Wheels toy. Cameron sat on the floor beside his older brother, staring at the two large loops where the cars zoomed through when they reached that portion of the track. His little brain was analyzing how it was possible for a car to fly upside down without it falling. Logan sat on his Aunt Kimmie's lap, pointing at the bright orange track and babbling jumbled words.

April's presence took their attention from the buzzing cars and Jordan appeared excited to see her. "Mommy, look at my tracks! I did this all by myself!" he proudly told her. The 6-year old ran towards her and tugged on her hand. "Come watch."

"I will in a minute," she said as she sat down on the other couch. Setting her oldest boy beside her, she smiled at Karen and her sisters. "So, umm… I have something to tell you all."

"What? You're pregnant?" Alice teased and shared a laugh with Libby and Kimmie. She noticed Alex shift uncomfortably against the wall close to the entrance of the living room. Looking back at April, her sister appeared just as uneasy as he was. "You know, I was kidding."

April nervously bit her lower lip, then she forced herself to laugh. "Actually, I am… pregnant," she sheepishly confirmed. "Alex and I are having a baby."

Each Kepner stared back at her in shock. Some with wide eyes, some mouths dropped open. The silence in the living room was intimidating. She desperately wanted somebody to answer her.

Libby awkwardly smiled at April. "Congrats?"

"Was this planned?" Kimmie inquired.

"No, but… surprise!" the redhead said as enthusiastically as possible. Her fake grin slowly faded as Karen blankly gazed at her. "Mom, are- are you mad at me? Because y-you look mad err- actually, I'm not sure what you're feeling at the moment."

Karen cleared her throat, twisting the ring on her right finger back and forth. "You and Alex haven't been together long, right?"

April covered Jordan's ears with her hands. "If we're going to be technical, I wasn't exactly _with_ Jackson when Jordan happened," she pointed out. "And uhh… we don't need to delve into the details of that. Very inappropriate with kids in the room."

Alex softly chuckled to himself. He thought about how poor Jordan was conceived in a freaking bathroom stall in San Francisco. At least Baby Karev happened in a bedroom. He wiped the smile from his face when Karen's eyes darted towards him.

"Look, uhh… we're keeping this baby," he informed them as he approached April's couch. "And I'm gonna do everything I can to move down here, so I can support her and help take care of the boys."

"We just found out this morning," April added and uncovered Jordan's ears. "There's a high possibility I'm around four weeks, but because it's really early I don't want to get ahead of ourselves and announce this to the rest of the world. While I don't want to think about it, anything can happen."

Jordan turned his head to look at his mother. "What's going on, Mommy?"

She smiled down at him. "Well, I'm having another baby. You'll be getting another little brother or a little sister for a change."

"So your belly will get big again?"

"Uh huh," April murmured. She wasn't exactly looking forward to that part. It took her months to shed the baby weight from her last pregnancy. Her metabolism hadn't been as kind to her as it was when she gave birth to Cameron.

Libby clapped her hands together and slightly smiled. "This is certainly an exciting turn of events," she sarcastically chimed in, then she muttered to Kimmie, "Thank God I'm not an Avery."

"I can hear you, Libby," the trauma surgeon retorted. "Can you guys please try to be happy for me? I mean, given what's happened in the past year, maybe this is the blessing I need to end the year off with a bang."

"It ended with a _bang_ alright," Alice quipped. Her older sister glared at her. "I don't have a problem with this."

"Hopefully, this baby won't always look like…" Kimmie pointed at Alex, who sported his infamous Karev scowl. "…that. He makes that face a lot."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"That better not be the baby's first word either," Alice teased. Pushing herself up from the couch, she walked towards April and gave her a hug. "Well, I'm happy for you. Still shocked, but I can't be upset. You've been through a lot."

"Well, we're not freaking kids anymore. I haven't given you a hard time about a lot of things in like four years." Libby followed suit and joined the hugging party. "If you pop out another boy, you're officially the opposite of Mom."

Kimmie was the last sister to complete the circle. "This baby will still be a Kepner, so we're going to love it no matter what."

While Alex was relieved April's sisters were accepting of the pregnancy, he noticed Karen remained in her seat. Her facial expression didn't scream happiness nor did it show sadness. She seemed indifferent to the news. Was it the child out of wedlock thing? He knew the Kepner's held religious values, at least their parents had. Or did she believe it was too soon for another child after Jackson passed away not too long ago? Whatever it was, it probably cancelled out the joy she expressed to him earlier that morning. He personally didn't want to know what Karen was thinking at that moment.

* * *

**Let me know what you think, please! P.S. there will likely be a small time jump in the next chapter :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**I know I've been super slow with updating this, but like with my other fic, I was battling writer's block with this one as well. I'm still 100% dedicated to AK2, so I hope you are too :P Anyway, thanks for waiting and please let me know what you think!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_"Congratulations! You're going to be a father!" Dr. Benson announced to Alex during his and April's appointment to the OB/GYN's office the day after Christmas._

He couldn't understand why the doctor was so chipper about it. He knew they wouldn't see anything on the sonogram. Even April wasn't excessively thrilled like her colleague was. She was only about four weeks along and she had never felt completely satisfied about any of her pregnancies until the baby was actually born. At the time of the appointment, they had only known about Baby Karev for a day and a half. And two weeks later, only her mother and sisters were the other people aware of the pregnancy.

Four weeks was nothing. Miscarriages happened all of the time and many women had no idea they were pregnant to begin with. Alex had difficulty relaxing when he returned to Seattle. April was too paranoid about potentially losing the baby, so she preferred keeping a low profile about the news.

_"Maybe when I reach the 8-week mark," she suggested._

Not telling his coworkers about the pregnancy meant wasting opportunities to talk to Arizona about moving to California. He was certain she would understand his desire to be closer to April, especially with a kid on the way. But his boss scared him. Their friendship slightly crumbled when he chose Hopkins for his fellowship after the blonde attending worked her ass off to keep him in Seattle. Then the plane crash happened and he felt a tremendous amount of guilt when she lost her leg. They eventually rebuilt their close bond, so that wasn't his biggest concern. He just had to spill the beans to her while she was in a good mood.

Sitting in a conference room with the rest of the attendings, Alex's head wasn't fully in the game. Whatever Owen had been yapping about for the past twenty minutes, he couldn't remember a single word that came out of the Chief's mouth. His mind was elsewhere – specifically Palo Alto. He hated being far away from April and the boys. His first scheduled visit to the children's hospital was in two weeks, just in time for April's 8-week sonogram.

He constantly played Karen's words to him over and over again in his head. Prior to flying back home to Seattle, she managed to have a one-on-one talk with him, while his girlfriend was working at Stanford. They weren't the most comforting comments, but she could have flat out told him what a freaking idiot he was for knocking up her daughter.

_"Are you 100% dedicated to this baby and April?" she questioned with a serious tone._

_"Of course I am," he answered, furrowing his eyebrows. "It's my kid. Why wouldn't I want to be involved?"_

_"It's not the same as watching the boys for a few hours, Alex."_

_"Yeah, I know that," he retorted. Alex folded his arms. He didn't like the fact that Karen was obviously doubting his commitment abilities. While he wasn't the best at commitment since the Izzie debacle, the baby was his open window to turn everything around and be that guy who didn't flee when it became tough. "Look, I know you don't like me as much as you liked Jackson. I'm sure April told you stuff about how I treated her in the past and you've seen my jackass side before. But I'm not gonna abandon her and the baby. It could be born with four legs and I'll still take full responsibility for it. I'll love this one just like I love the boys."_

And that shut up Karen for the time being. She was a nice lady and had every right to protect April from getting hurt, but he wished the elder Kepner would trust him more. Her sisters warmed up to him. Alice saw him almost every day, so he hardly worried about her opinion, but prior to dating April, he barely spoke to Libby and Kimmie. It may have been the free plane tickets that won them over, but they had been kind to him when they were all together. He felt accepted around the Kepner sisters. Although, he was uncertain about their mother.

His potential future mother-in-law – if marriage was in the cards – wasn't his only concern. So many questions haunted him in his head. Was he father material? Would the kid become a grouch like he was and drive April crazy? Would the boys take an issue with having a lighter skinned sibling? What if Baby Karev resented him from the second it was born?

He had zoned out everyone around him and failed to hear Owen calling out his name. Each department had been reporting to the Chief about their current statuses regarding projects and research proposals. It was the Pediatrics department's turn and it was Alex's job to update their peers.

"Karev!" the redheaded surgeon yelled. "Earth to Karev!"

"What?" Alex finally answered, snapping out of his thoughts. All eyes were focused on him. Some of his coworkers stared at him concerned, while others simply smirked at him. "Uhh… what?"

"Your Africa project," Owen reminded him. "Stanford received their first set of patients from India last week. Has it been a smooth transition for Dr. Reynolds and his staff?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there," he muttered, then he cleared his throat after he received a stern glare from Owen. "I mean, I haven't contacted Reynolds yet, but uhh… no news is good news, right? I'll have a better idea of how they're doing when I visit in two weeks."

Despite saving himself from looking like a fool in front of the other surgeons, it wasn't enough to keep his nosy friends from interrogating him after their meeting. Meredith and Cristina followed him out of the conference room, sandwiching him in the middle as they walked alongside him.

"Spill, Alex," Meredith ordered. "We've been watching you since you returned from Palo Alto and you're hiding something. You check your phone every other minute when you're not in the OR, you barely talk to any of us and you were completely in another world during that meeting."

Cristina smirked at the peds surgeon. "Did you knock April up with your Evil Spawn sperm?"

Alex scowled back at her. "Screw you. Whatever goes on in my life is none of your freaking business," he retorted, angrily stuffing his hands inside of his lab coat pockets. "I've just been trying to figure out how I can get the job I deserve at Stanford. It's my project. Robbins can easily take charge of the one up here, but I want to be in control of my own damn project."

"It's Stanford. They know what they're doing over there," she nonchalantly said. "We get your precious April is down there too, but if they don't have room, then they don't have room. You'll probably have to sleep your way to the job."

"Shut up. There's nothing up here for me anymore," he grumbled. "Everything that matters to me the most is down in California. That's where I want to be."

Cristina exchanged glances with Meredith. While they were all aware of Alex's relationship with April, none of them knew just how serious they had become over the course of a few months. "Oh my God. You're like in love with her and her mini Jackson's," she realized. "Good old Alex is finally turning into a sap. He wants a family of his own."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Meredith assured her friend and smiled. "Alex is happy with April and we should respect that. In my opinion, she's not a bad choice to settle down with. April is loyal. She's perfect for him. Somebody has to tame his bad boy side."

"I haven't been that guy since… since the freaking plane crash," Alex insisted and shrugged. "April makes me feel like I'm worth a damn. Whatever. I love her, okay? There I said it. I love her, so can you go annoy the crap out of somebody else now?"

"Dr. Karev!" a boisterous female's voice called out from behind the threesome.

Alex closed his eyes and cringed as he stopped in his tracks. A person had to be entirely deaf not to recognize Catherine's voice in the hospital. He dreaded speaking to Mama Avery since Christmas. In the past two weeks, she hadn't mentioned anything related to April or how he butted heads with Samantha, but they also rarely saw each other in the hallways. He tried his hardest to avoid encounters with the urologist. He wasn't prepared to face her after his uncomfortable conversation with Karen about the pregnancy.

Slowly turning around on his heels, he forced a half-smile at her. "Uhh, Dr. Avery. Did you need me for something?"

Catherine shook her head. "No, but I see April finally came around to posting those precious pictures and videos of the boys from Christmas on Facebook. And surprising her by flying in her family? You, sir, are more impressive than I thought," she gushed.

"It was nothing, really," Alex bashfully replied. He slightly ducked his head, scratching the back of his neck. "Is that all?"

"Well, is there anything else I should know? How was your small vacation in California, dear?"

_Awesome except for your bitchy daughter's comments and I knocked up April with a baby who's technically not your grandkid,_ he answered in his mind. Of course, blurting out any of that would open up a gigantic can of worms.

"Cool, I guess. I needed the relaxation," he casually said. "Still trying to find a resolution to the whole Stanford thing."

"What do you mean? You're trying to get a job there?" Catherine placed her hand on Alex's shoulder. "Why don't I speak to Samantha about this? Perhaps she can work something out for you."

Alex nervously laughed and waved his hand. "That- that's not necessary. The children's hospital has its own Chief and I don't think she has a say in anything over there." Not only that, he just didn't want to feel like a charity case with the Avery's. "I can handle it myself, but thanks."

* * *

Morning sickness. Just exactly what April needed in the middle of managing a busy ER. Even though vomiting potentially harmful toxins that could hurt the baby was a good thing, she hoped it wouldn't happen at work. When she was pregnant with Cameron her morning sickness was the worst, having to constantly run off to the nearest restroom to puke. Logan hadn't been as cruel to her, but Baby Karev was definitely testing her ability to keep everything down.

If the emergency room hadn't been filled with patients, she could hide in her office and leave one of the other trauma attendings in charge until she felt well enough to continue working. But an accident at a construction site brought in six injured workers, each with different injuries. She bounced from one trauma room to the other, checking on each patient. Broken leg, broken ribs, possible kidney contusion, another required a CT scan. After paging various surgeons for consults, she stood by the nurses' station updating a patient's chart as she controlled her breathing. Her nausea was at its peak after inhaling the stench of sweaty construction workers.

One of her residents, Dr. Bryant, approached the redhead to update her on each bed. "Dr. Avery, everybody has been taken care of. Mr. Harris in bed two needs an ortho consult because his knee has blown up into an eggplant. In bed five, Mr. Todd's laceration on his lower right leg is all stitched up and he just needs some crutches before he can leave. Also, Mr. Knight-" The young woman noticed how incredibly pale April was and how little she was paying attention, which drew concern. "Are you alright, Dr. Avery? You look awfully pale. Are you sick?"

"I umm…" She nearly gagged and covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm f-fine, Dr. Bryant. A little under the weather, but… do you need me for anything or can you handle it on your own?"

"Well, Mr. Knight in bed eight has this gash on his leg that I think is infected," the resident answered with a disgusted expression on her face. "I'm very positive it's infected because there's pus spewing out and it's turned a nasty shade of green-"

"Excuse me!" April rushed out of the pit and into the nearest women's restroom. She barely made it into a bathroom stall before she vomited into the toilet. She almost wanted to kill Dr. Bryant for sending her nausea over the edge.

After flushing the toilet and pushing herself up from the floor, she stood in front of the sink and threw some cold water onto her face. Dealing with morning sickness without Alex was going to be torture. How was she going to take care of her sons alone? Jordan and Cameron were old enough to follow directions, but Logan wasn't there yet. She wished she had a backup plan to watch the kids. In Seattle, she could easily ask Lexie or Izzie – hell, even Cristina – to keep an eye on them for a few hours. Samantha was out of the question. She hadn't apologized for her behavior at the dinner and she refused to leave the boys with her.

Rather than become desperate and call for help, she opted to suck it up and hope the nausea would decrease for the rest of the day. Popping in a piece of mint into her mouth, she returned to the ER where Samantha was escorting one of the construction workers to the elevator.

"Ah, Dr. Avery," the cardio surgeon greeted her with a smirk. "Looks like I have a pneumothorax in my hands. Why don't you scrub in with me? We can catch up at the same time."

"Actually, I-"

"Every second you waste deciding, our patient is dying," she reminded her.

April took a deep breath as she followed Samantha into the elevator. Her morning sickness wasn't as unbearable after emptying her toxic tank, so she figured she could handle one surgery. If she continued to avoid her sister-in-law, she would eventually suspect something and whine to Mama Avery behind her back.

But she had forgotten to take lack of food, dehydration and exhaustion into consideration when she scrubbed in with Samantha. About an hour into the procedure, her morning sickness was back on the rise. There were at least three possible ways to humiliate herself in front of Jackson's sister: abruptly run out of the OR to vomit, unleash the nasty before she could remove her surgical mask or take it off in time only to throw up inside of their patient's open body cavity. The only technique she could use at the moment to keep everything down was to think of clean, non-queasy thoughts.

"Is everything alright with you, Dr. Avery?" Samantha asked curiously. The redhead standing across from her was sweating profusely and her breathing had become slow and deep. "If you are ill, you should step out of my OR this instant."

"I-I'm okay," April reluctantly said, taking in another deep breath. "Honestly, I am… fine."

"People who are deemed _fine_ aren't sweating up a storm. They stand up proudly and aren't imitating the _Hunchback of Notre Dame_. You, dear, look like you're in labor," Samantha bluntly replied, her eyes staring down at April. "I'm not an idiot. You're clearly not fine, so either tell me what you're pretending not to have or leave."

"You're the one who insisted on having me scrub in," the trauma surgeon retorted.

Samantha softly chuckled to herself. "A simple, 'No, thank you', would've done the trick."

"You barely gave me a second to make a choice."

"Oh, this is _my_ fault now?" her sister-in-law sternly replied and gestured towards their open patient. "Do you honestly want to argue with me while I'm trying to save this man's life? You're being very unprofessional, Dr. Avery."

"_I'm_ being unprofessional? Dr. Langdon, could you take my place, please?" April asked the resident, handing her tools to the third year before he could respond. She pulled down her surgical mask as she angrily walked towards the biohazard bin to throw away her gloves. "I'm done here."

Samantha cleared her throat. "And where do you think you're going?"

The redhead spun around, scowling at the cardio surgeon. "To go puke my brains out because I have a bad case of morning sickness!" She noticed the surprised eyes and eyebrow raises from her colleagues. "Yes, that's right. I am _pregnant_!"

After April stormed out of the OR, Samantha had trouble believing what came out of her mouth. Her crabby sister-in-law was pregnant, but _not_ with her brother's baby. With Alex Karev's baby. Now, she was slowly beginning to feel sick. Looking up at one of her fifth year residents, she held out her instruments.

"Dr. Tillman, could you take over for a minute, please? I need to briefly step out and make a phone call."

* * *

No new text messages on his cell phone meant April was either incredibly busy or vomiting in a restroom, trash can or on another patient. Alex constantly checked his phone over eating his lunch in the cafeteria. He knew she had been battling morning sickness based on the messages they exchanged earlier in the day. However, the rush of texts from her suddenly stopped. He suspected something was off because she texted as much as she talked. When both abruptly came to a halt he had a feeling her hands were full, but he hated waiting.

He hadn't noticed Kevin snatching a handful of his fries or Cristina narrowly missing his head after throwing an almond at him. His mind drifted off again to April and Baby Karev. Paranoia sunk in for whatever reason. Maybe it was his sudden fatherly instincts.

_"Remember to stay alive in there," he spoke to her abdomen before heading into the airport. "Karev's don't give up easily, so don't let me down. You were made for All-State, baby."_

What if she stopped texting because she had a freaking miscarriage? Crap. Instead of thinking about the positive scenarios, he continued to imagine the negative ones. Learning about the pregnancy initially scared the living daylights out of him because it wasn't planned nor was the timing perfect. But now, he really wanted to be a father to the new baby _and_ the Avery boys. If only he could grow some balls and talk to Arizona, everything wouldn't feel so frustrating.

"Dr. Karev!"

The sound of Catherine's voice made him grimace. Not because he was tired of listening to her but the tone in her voice was serious. Every syllable in his name pronounced clearly. Mama Avery wasn't messing around. She sounded _pissed_ compared to their previous conversation.

Sitting upright in his seat, Alex forced himself to smile at the urologist. "You called?"

"I recently finished speaking to Samantha on the phone," she started, placing her hands on her hips. "April caused a scene in her OR. Apparently, a very unprofessional scene. She walked out in the middle of an operation because she wasn't feeling well. Am I hearing this right? She's carrying _your_ child?"

The rest of their table, which included Izzie and Lexie, shared shocked expressions on their faces. A smug grin formed on Cristina's face. She was proud to know she had been correct with her guess all along.

"What did I say? Evil Sperm attacked successfully," she gloated.

"Not the time, Yang," Alex mumbled, glaring at his friend. He glanced back up at Catherine. "Okay, April's pregnant with my kid. So what? Are you gonna place her on the Avery Wall of Shame?"

"Don't get snarky with me, dear," Catherine scolded him, waving her finger in front of his face. "How far along is she and is she taking excellent care of herself?"

"I guess she's six weeks or whatever. And uhh... she's April," he awkwardly replied. "Of course she's taking care of herself down there. It'd help if she had supportive in-laws, though."

She placed her hand against her chest. "What makes you think I'm not supportive of this? I just don't understand why you felt it was necessary to lie to my face and hide this information from me."

"Because the baby's not an Avery. It's a Karev," Alex defensively said. "For the record, Samantha hates me. She hardly gives a crap about Jordan, Cameron and Logan. You seriously think she'll give a crap about this one? And why the hell should you give a crap? This kid isn't your grandkid."

Catherine raised her eyebrow at him. "I beg your pardon?"

"You want this baby to be your grandkid, then fine, but I don't want to see him or her being treated differently because it doesn't have any freaking Avery blood in its system."

"I most certainly wouldn't treat your child unfairly," she insisted. "Jackson may not be here anymore, but April is still family. There is also no way she can handle this pregnancy while juggling three young boys and an ER, so if you're absolutely serious about being there for her, then you need to move your grouchy behind to California and take care of her."

"You think I haven't been trying?" Alex raised his voice. He couldn't care less that his friends and other bystanders in the cafeteria were listening to their conversation, but he preferred a more private conversation. Why did Catherine feel obligated to confront him about the pregnancy in a room filled with at least a hundred people?

Because the great Mama Avery always had to make her presence known. And she hardly cared if other people knew her business as long as she got her point across.

"I told you earlier that I can help you get a job at Stanford," she reminded him. "Just a couple of phone calls and-"

"I don't want your help!" he exclaimed, pushing himself up from his seat. "All my life I've had to take care of myself when the people who were supposed to didn't. This isn't your responsibility. I get you're trying to do something freaking nice for me, but I'd rather deal with this alone."

Leaving the cafeteria in a hurry, Alex avoided eye contact with everybody staring back at him. He headed straight for Owen's office hoping he wasn't busy, though he hadn't figured out exactly what he wanted to say to the Chief. His visit to Stanford wasn't for another two weeks, but he couldn't be away from April that long. Catherine had made a point about his girlfriend being unable to handle the boys, work and Baby Karev by herself. She could potentially build up enough stress to cause a miscarriage. He dreaded the possibility.

Perhaps being one of those stay at home fathers could be an option until Reynolds was willing to offer him a job. Cameron and Logan wouldn't have to be cooped up in the daycare center and April wouldn't have to worry about leaving work to pick up Jordan from school. Although, he would rather be a surgeon, so he could support the family financially. Raising three children plus a fourth one on the way wasn't cheap, especially with the freaking school Samantha forced April to dump Jordan in. And if this new baby was born with a disability or an illness… he didn't want to think about that considering his family had a history of mental illness.

He barged into Owen's office without bothering to knock. His colleague was caught off-guard by his sudden arrival.

"Dude- I mean, Chief, I need some time off," Alex requested, stopping in front of the desk. "Two or three days."

"What for, Karev?"

"So, I know I'm heading down to Stanford in a couple of weeks, but I gotta be there right now," he pleaded, running his fingers through his hair as he sighed. "April's… she's pregnant and she's not doing so well. Morning sickness crap."

Owen raised both of his eyebrows in response to the news. "Well, uhh… first off, congratulations," he awkwardly said, forcing a smile. He shifted in his seat and folded his hands on top of his desk. "How bad is her morning sickness?"

Alex shrugged. "I don't know, but how can she watch her kids if her head's living in a toilet? She could be puking and- and Logan decides to drink liquid drainer because he's a curious little dude. He's grabby and loves to take anything he can reach for-"

"Yeah, I understand your point," he interrupted. "Alright, I'll let you go. You've got a baby on the way. If I were in your shoes, I would be doing the same thing."

Which would only happen if pigs could fly since Cristina stood by her decision to never have children. Their fellow surgeons knew it was a bitter pill to swallow for the trauma surgeon, but he learned to somewhat accept it by playing Uncle Owen to Zola, Sofia and the other Seattle Grace Mercy West children.

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Alex tapped his fingers against the desk. "Can I ask you for one more favor?"

"Sure."

"Do you think you could give Dr. Reynolds a call about a possible opening at the children's hospital? I feel like I need this job more than ever now," he worriedly said. "There's just no freaking way I can be up here, while April's down there pregnant with my kid. You deserve to have a peds surgeon who's all in at this hospital. That's not me. I don't want to be here anymore."

Owen slightly frowned. Alex was his best pediatric surgeon after Arizona. If the perky blonde were to leave for another hospital, his first choice for Head of Pediatric Surgery would be him and he knew she would agree. His attitude wasn't always favorable, but he made up for it with his success in the OR. And he was supposed to be Chief Resident if he hadn't ratted out Meredith for tampering Derek's Alzheimer's trial. That honor, of course, went to April.

A part of him regretted letting April leave Seattle. Stanford was the opportunity she deserved, but he missed her organization skills. Kevin was good at running the ER, but he wasn't as great as April would have been. He never expected having her move on meant he would eventually lose one of his top pediatric surgeons as well.

"I'll see what I can do," he simply responded. "You should go be with April now."

Alex nodded and quietly left Owen's office. He wanted to run to the attendings locker room and leave the hospital as fast as he could. The poker face he sported hid the excitement building up inside of him. He couldn't wait to see April and the boys. And he was certain they would be delighted to see him too.

* * *

Having left work early, April slouched on the couch as she kept her eyes on all three of her sons in the living room. Jordan was occupied with his homework, Cameron was quietly reading a book on a bean bag chair and Logan sat beside his mother with his eyes glued to _Sesame Street_ on the TV. She was thankful to have kids who could behave for a long period of time. Otherwise, she was screwed.

She refused to apologize for her behavior in the OR. Unprofessional? Sure, but Samantha had finally pushed her too far with her snide comments and messing with a hormonal pregnant woman was a bad idea. She partially hoped the cardio surgeon would find a way to have her fired, so she could return to Seattle where she belonged.

The front door opened and she immediately sat up on the couch. Her face lit up when Alex appeared. His arrival also caught the attention of Jordan and Cameron, who were thrilled to see him.

"Uncle Alex!" the oldest Avery boy shrieked, jumping up to his feet. He ran towards Alex and hugged his leg tightly. "Whatcha doin' here?"

"I came to see you, of course," he happily greeted the 6-year old. Cameron followed suit and hugged his other leg. Picking up both boys at the same time, he carried them towards the couch. Logan bounced on the cushion, grinning at the peds surgeon. "How's it going, you little runt?"

April laughed as her youngest son pointed at Alex while he squealed in excitement. "Yes, baby. That's Uncle Alex."

Sitting down beside her, he set Jordan and Cameron on the floor before placing his hand against April's abdomen. "How are you feeling? Are you eating? Is the morning sickness still bad?" he asked anxiously.

"It's not terrible right now, but I haven't eaten much," she guiltily admitted. Placing her hands on Alex's cheeks, she leaned forward and kissed him. "I've had a horrible day."

"I uhh, sort of heard." He pulled her closer to his side, wrapping his arm around her waist and gently rubbing her belly with his hand. "Catherine confronted me about knocking you up. Said the female version of the devil called her earlier, told her what happened between you two in the OR. I want to hear from your side. I don't trust her story."

She rested her cheek against his shoulder and sighed. "The ER was really busy today, which also just happened to be the time when my morning sickness was bothering me the most. Sam pretty much cornered me into scrubbing in with her," she recalled, sounding agitated. "I thought I was fine, but I started feeling sick again. She decided to call me out because I probably appeared paler than usual. Anyway, I finally had enough of her crap and blurted out I'm pregnant to her and the rest of the people in the OR. I'm so stupid."

Alex shook his head. "You're not stupid. It's about time you stood up to her. She thinks she can bully you around because you're family or whatever. _She's_ the stupid one," he assured her, kissing her forehead. "I'm sorry I didn't call ahead of time."

"It's fine. You being here is the surprise I needed." April suddenly broke down in tears. "I don't want to be here anymore."

Her last comment was exactly what he had said to Owen in his office. Neither of them wanted to be in the current situation they were in. He wanted to be in California with her and the kids, while she would rather move back home to Seattle. Last month, he convinced her stay. Now, he wouldn't mind having her return to the Pacific Northwest.

He refused to let the boys see their mother crying, so he helped her up from the couch. "Jordan, can you watch your brothers for a minute? Make sure Logan doesn't hurt himself." The little boy did as he was told, climbing onto the couch and sitting next to his baby brother. Alex escorted April into the kitchen and hugged her as she cried on his shoulder. "Are you sure this time? It's not just your hormones acting up?"

"I'm sure, Alex. Moving here isn't what I hoped it would be," April sobbed. "I want to go home. This isn't home no matter what you say. Honestly, I don't care if I have to be demoted to work under Kevin in the ER. It has to be better than what I have to deal with at Stanford."

"Funny how things work out. I just begged Hunt to convince Reynolds to get me a job at the children's hospital. I've been griping over how much I don't want to be in Seattle anymore," he confessed and softly chuckled. "Maybe we should both move to Portland, which isn't really meeting halfway, but at least it'd be different for us."

"Well, could you do a little more begging for me? I belong in Seattle not here."

Alex soothingly rubbed his hand up and down April's back. "We have to be together whether it's here or in Seattle. I don't want us to deal with this pregnancy separately. I love you and the boys and this baby. We can't be apart like this all the time. It's unhealthy."

"So, umm… how does Catherine feel about this?"

"I thought she was pissed about it, but I guess she's supportive. I was confused as hell at first." He rolled his eyes. "And for some reason, she felt it was necessary to call me out in front of Mer and the others. I'm pretty sure the Dermatology department's aware of our kid now. You know how fast the gossip spreads."

"Yeah, and I actually miss that," April muttered. "I miss everybody. This baby should be born in a place where it will be loved right away by the people we care about. Bring me back home, Alex."

How could he reject that now? Bringing her back to Seattle sure as heck seemed like an easier task than relocating to California. At least his current job was secure. Owen would likely love to have her back at SGMW. He could see on his face during their brief meeting that he regretted sending April away to Stanford. And with Baby Karev now in play, there was no way he could say no to the peds surgeon.

Alex kissed her gently on the lips and smiled. "I'm gonna do everything I can to take you away from this place."

* * *

The two days he spent in Palo Alto flew by quickly, but returning to Seattle was one of the rare times he was glad to be coming back home. He hoped Owen hadn't spoken to Reynolds about offering him a place at the children's hospital because it was pointless now. April wanted her job back and he was determined to make it happen.

He was given the front row seat of her morning sickness episodes. Holding her hair back when she vomited in the bathroom, helping her eat by preparing food that fought against her nausea and ensuring the Avery boys were taken care of when she reported back to work. In a way, he was Superman – at least in his mind he called himself that. He had done everything for April and the kids during his brief visit. Five years ago, he would have hated doing any of it. Now, he enjoyed every second he spent with them, puke fest and all.

Driving his car from the airport, he arrived at his house with a visitor waiting for him on the porch. It was a brunette woman and he knew immediately who it was, but he couldn't understand why she was in Seattle in the first place, especially without any warning. It wasn't the most ideal time to have any visitors. He had business to take care of at the hospital.

He got out of his car, carrying his duffel bag in his hand. Quickly approaching the woman, his infamous scowl greeted her and in return, she smirked at him. "What the hell are you doing here, Amber?"


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks for the reviews! I've been having a bunch of April feels because she's been treated like crap on the show, so I wanted her to have a triumphant moment in this chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Little Amber Karev. She wasn't little anymore, but in Alex's eyes she was still the 16-year old girl whose life almost ended at the hands of their own brother. He sat in the hospital with her for ten minutes, holding her hand and ensuring she would survive. Afterwards, he took care of business, forcing his mother to take her medication and committing Aaron into a mental institution. Being in Iowa only reminded him of his troubled childhood, so he fled as soon as he could.

He hardly knew his baby sister, but what he did know about her was positive. She managed to keep herself out of trouble, despite living in an unstable household. There weren't loving parents to raise her into the young woman she had become. She simply raised herself to become the person she was now. Alex did everything he could to protect his siblings when they were younger. Amber was barely out of diapers when he finally stood up to their father. She apparently had zero recollection of when he left their lives for good. The peds surgeon thought it was better for her not to remember because it triggered the downward spiral of their mother's mental condition.

The now 24-year old appeared more physically mature compared to her teenage years. Her long brown hair extended about six inches past her shoulders. Even with her hair partially covering the sides of her face, Alex could clearly see the visible scar on her neck, from ear to ear. He wondered how often people questioned her about the scar and if she was straightforward about it. Did it bother her at all? Would she consider having it removed?

Standing face to face, the older Karev had about three inches on his sister. She looked healthy and well-taken care of, an independent woman who learned how to support herself when he wasn't around to help her.

"Okay, seriously. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in class or whatever?" he impatiently asked.

"Unless things have changed since you attended Iowa, we're on a semester system. I don't begin classes again until the 22nd," Amber responded with a notable smirk. She grabbed her luggage and gestured her free hand towards the front door. "Are you gonna let me in or what?"

"You still haven't answered my first question."

Amber sighed in annoyance. She had a familiar wrinkle on her forehead when she appeared peeved just like her older brother. "Some doctor called me out of the blue, said I needed to visit you," she answered. "Dr. Crapner or something. What kind of a name is Crapner?"

"It's _Kepner_," he quickly corrected her. It couldn't have been April who called Amber because she would have introduced herself as Avery. The only other possible source was Alice due to the truce they made before Christmas. "Was her name Alice?"

She snapped her fingers and nodded. "Yeah! Alice Kepner. She said it was urgent," she recalled before she gasped. "Oh my God. You knocked her up, didn't you? And you're being a coward by not taking responsibility for your unborn child."

He waved both of his arms while he shook his head. "No freaking way! I didn't knock Alice up," he truthfully said, then he slightly ducked his head and muttered, "I knocked up her sister."

Amber chuckled. "Ah, I see. Did this Alice call me because she wants another Karev to kick your ass for getting her sister pregnant?" she teasingly asked. "You know, I learned a bit of taekwondo my sophomore year of college, so I _can_ give you a decent whooping if I have to."

"Shut up. There will be no ass whooping from anybody." He nodded his head towards the front door. "C'mon, I have a shitload of explaining to do. I uhh, I hope you ate something because I haven't had the chance to stock up on food. I was out of town."

"I can tell," she noted, following him into the house.

Amber set her luggage by the doorway of the living room before she sat down on the couch. She scanned the area. The living room was clean, but a little bare. Alex wasn't a big decorator. He only furnished his home with the items he needed – couches, a coffee table, a couple of lamps and a flat screen TV. Other than a few picture frames containing photographs of April and the boys, there wasn't much to brag about.

Alex disappeared for a brief moment and returned from his kitchen with two beer bottles. He held one out in front of Amber's face. "Here, take it."

"Beer at this hour?" she said, staring at the bottle amused.

"Just take it, alright?" He rolled his eyes when she snatched the bottle from him, then he sat down beside her, giving them a cushion of space between them. Twisting the cap off, he rested his feet against the coffee table and took a swig. "How long were you waiting outside?"

She shrugged while she sipped her beer. "I don't know. An hour or two? Where did you come from?"

"California, where my girlfriend lives. I was taking care of her for a couple of days because of crappy morning sickness," he explained. This was the part he wasn't entirely comfortable doing – opening up to someone who wasn't April or Meredith. Amber was his sister, but she almost felt like a complete stranger to him. "Uhh, her name's April."

"Is she a surgeon too?"

"She is. At Stanford, but I plan on bringing her back to Seattle. It sucks down there. I was making plans to try to move down there to be with her, but she'd rather come home. She's carrying my kid, so we gotta be together. There's no other option."

Amber turned sideways to face Alex. "Every time we talked on the phone about the money you sent me, not once did you mention having a girlfriend or a kid on the way. What the hell, Alex?" she angrily replied. "I know we aren't that close – and that is _not_ my fault – but I'm still your sister. I'm gonna be an aunt. That's a big deal!"

"I only found out I'm gonna be a dad two weeks ago! Everything's been kind of a clusterfuck since my best friend died and April's the only great thing going for me. Well, her and her sons-"

"_Sons_? Okay, whoa," she interrupted and chugged half of her beer. She cleared her throat, then she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Definitely shared some Karev mannerisms. "So, I'll be an aunt to kids that aren't yours? Christ, can we start from the very beginning because I'm confused as hell. No wonder Alice said this meeting was urgent. I don't know shit about your life."

"Don't worry. The autobiography's coming out next year," he sarcastically said. "I'll make sure you get the first copy."

Amber threw a pillow at her brother's head. He ducked as it grazed his hair. "I'm not joking around. I understand the age gap between us is kind of big, so maybe you don't think we can relate, but the only family we got is each other," she reminded him. "Mom and Aaron are locked up in nuthouses. Who knows where Dad is and if he's still alive? We were closed off from any other family, so our options for support were slim to none. I wasn't old enough to appreciate how much you took care of us. Aaron, he used to brag about how badass you were because you beat up Dad. He told me a lot of things before… before he went all crazy like Mom. Like when he visited you for surgery."

"So, uhh… you probably heard about Izzie then," Alex muttered.

"Had cancer and left you or whatever," she answered. "Was she the love of your life?"

"Yeah- well, I thought she was." He pushed himself up from the couch and walked towards the fireplace to retrieve one of the picture frames sitting above it. After he returned to the couch, he sat down and handed the picture frame to Amber. "She is now."

Holding the picture frame against her lap, she stared at the photograph of April with her brother in San Francisco. It was taken by the adorable elderly woman who initially thought they were a couple. It also just happened to be one of a few pictures Alex appreciated because he hadn't been forcing his smile.

"She's pretty. I see you're into redheads. I always thought you'd be the guy who only wanted blondes," Amber teased.

"It didn't matter. I used to screw anything with boobs, but that's not me anymore," Alex stated, taking the picture frame from Amber and setting it on the coffee table. "I had to make some changes with my life. Nobody's gonna want a dude who's constantly sleeping around."

"Good for you, I guess. It's nice to know my brother isn't a manwhore." She laughed at how irritated he was by most of her comments. "Do you lack a sense of humor or something? You need to lighten up, dude. I'm here for a week, so hopefully we don't kill each other before I leave."

The peds surgeon furrowed his eyebrows. "A week? Freaking A. I thought you were stopping by for a day or two, not a whole goddamn week! I have a lot of crap to deal with at work."

"People don't miraculously form a strong bond in two days, you idiot." She quickly shrugged. "Besides, I want to check out your hospital. After I graduate, I thought it would be better to move here, so you don't have to constantly worry about sending me money anymore."

"So, what you're basically saying is you want to move here and mooch off my money without having to wait once a month?"

"Are you kidding me? I'm going to be a nurse. I know the money isn't as big as your hot shot surgeon salary, but I'll be able to take care of myself. I did just fine without most of your help in case you still haven't noticed," Amber argued, sporting the infamous Karev scowl. "I'll be forever grateful that you put me through college, but you can't accuse me of being some money hungry sister. I've never asked for more than what you've been giving me."

Alex wanted to counter Amber's argument, but she had been right all along. She had always been good about accepting whatever amount of money he sent her and never complained about it. He took care of her financially, but she did most of the work herself. All alone in Iowa, he couldn't understand how she hadn't gone crazy living there. They rarely talked about Aaron or Mama Karev. Did she even visit them? He couldn't imagine her wanting to see their brother after he slit her throat. It was the schizophrenia that made him do it, but the scar on her neck reminded her of the incident every day.

He pointed at her scar. "Ever think about having that removed? We got a really good plastic surgeon at work. He could easily get rid of that if you can't stand it," he suggested.

She partially covered her scar with her hand. "I… I've always kind of wanted to, but I had no money for it. You were already giving me a lot, so I didn't want to bother you about that," she guiltily replied. "People at school – after it happened – were all sympathetic towards me, but I know it was out of pity. I was Amber Karev, the girl with the psycho mother. I didn't have a lot of friends then and I most definitely didn't have any after Aaron tried to kill me. They thought I was gonna become nuts too. I almost got expelled my senior year."

"What'd you do?"

"I kicked a girl's ass," she proudly said, grinning widely. Alex wasn't impressed. Instead, he blankly stared at her while he folded his arms. "Oh, c'mon. The girl was asking for it. She was talking all of this shit to me about our family. Karev's always let other people know what we're thinking. We don't hold back. Don't tell me you've never punched a guy out before. Didn't you beat up Aaron once?"

"He asked for it," he mumbled, rolling his eyes. "Fine, whatever. You made your point. What kept you from getting kicked out?"

"There was this teacher, Ms. Robinson. She taught Physics and was the only teacher in the school who cared about my personal life. She was cool. Anyway, she managed to convince the principal to keep me in school. Of course, I had to serve detention for her for the rest of the year, but she was pretty awesome about it. She actually showed me these sweet experiments over making me do crap for her. And we'd talk and stuff. She was the only person I ever confided in about life at home."

"Did you tell her about how I'm such a crappy brother for fleeing Iowa?" Alex scoffed.

Amber laughed to herself. "Everything's not about you, Alex. Are you always this self-centered?" Her older brother kept quiet, but she knew he wanted to fire back with his own snarky comment. "But if you must know, I didn't talk about you because I had nothing to say. I mostly told Ms. Robinson about my own issues. Happy?"

"Like the dwarf," he unenthusiastically said before he stood up again. "Okay, we've wasted enough time reminiscing about our hardships. I have to go to work and talk to the Chief."

"Dude, you still haven't even told me about how you and April started," she complained, standing up with him. "You can tell me on the way there because I'm going with you."

Alex softly groaned as he rubbed the back of his neck. No matter what he said, she wasn't going to listen. Karev's were stubborn. Perhaps Amber wasn't at the same level of stubbornness as he was, but he expected her to badger him until he gave in. This was supposed to be bonding time… or whatever.

"Fine. Just don't get in my way or make me look stupid in front of my friends," he ordered. "Let's go."

* * *

April spent her first day back at work in her office. She left her fellow trauma attending, Nico, in charge of the emergency room and only asked to be paged if she was desperately needed. Her morning sickness continued to be a battle she fought hard against, so she forced herself to resort to mostly paperwork until it subsided. Being in her office relaxed her more than the ER did. No running from patient to patient or rushing one of them into an OR. She would love to be performing surgery over boring paperwork, but Baby Karev limited her nausea tolerance.

After late night discussions with Alex during his brief visit, she decided to resign from her position as Head of Trauma at Stanford and return home to Seattle. Being in charge of her specialty was a dream come true. The other trauma attendings were supportive of her, the residents listened to every demand she asked for and she kept the pit organized at all times. But there was still a vacancy that couldn't be filled in California.

Her Seattle Grace Mercy West family. While she had friends at Stanford, none of them offered the same moral support that the doctors in Seattle did. Change wasn't always meant to be good. She learned that the hard way. Having family in California didn't matter. Samantha never made her feel welcome. She often criticized the redhead and her life choices. And she loathed Alex, which didn't sit well for April.

Her boyfriend promised to get her job back at SGMW, but nothing was set in stone. There were other options for her if Owen couldn't afford to make room for her, which she hoped wouldn't be the case. They were the only Level I Trauma Center in the area, so anything after that would be considered a worse downgrade than being demoted to work under Kevin Banks. Still, she explored her options.

Seattle Presbyterian, University of Washington Medical Center. Harborview Medical Center was once the top dog of trauma centers until Seattle Grace Mercy West leapfrogged them and took that honor, but they weren't a bad option either. She had an impressive resume that should be able to land her a job at any of those hospitals, but her preferred choice was her original home where her second family resided.

She heard a knock on her door and looked up from her paperwork. "Come in." The mood in her office deflated when Samantha entered the room. Once again, they hadn't spoken since their latest spat and she wanted to avoid the cardio surgeon as much as possible. "Hello, Dr. Avery."

"And hello to you too, Dr. Avery," her sister-in-law responded as she approached April's desk. "Word is floating around that you've given my father-in-law your letter of resignation. Is this true?"

April set her pen down and folded her hands on top of her desk. "Yes, it is. I'm moving back to Seattle to be closer to the people who care about me," she confidently answered. "Stanford is an excellent hospital, but it's not for me. I've already made my decision."

Samantha slowly shook her head in disappointment. "Well, that's a shame. I'm sorry you couldn't hack it as a surgeon here. Not everybody can handle the strenuous work we deal with at Stanford."

"It wasn't my job I couldn't handle. It's _you_," she sternly replied. The other woman stared back at her appalled. "Oh, don't act like you've done nothing wrong since I arrived. You've been cold and unsympathetic towards my feelings about anything. You treat Alex like he's worthless when in reality he's a remarkable man. And you're a terrible aunt. Do you realize Cameron is afraid of you? He freaking calls you the Evil Witch Lady! I thought he was talking about some character in one of his nightmares, but I only figured it out when I mentioned your name and he overheard it. I've never heard him call you that until after he and Logan stayed with you when Jordan had the chicken pox. What the hell did you do to my baby?"

Samantha protectively placed her hand against her chest. "Cameron saw me with my facial mask one night. It must have spooked him," she insisted. "That little boy is going to grow up frightened of everything around him unless, you teach him how to grow out of his insecurities."

April's mouth dropped open. "He's only four years old!" she gasped. "For your information, he is a bright little boy. Just because he isn't as outgoing and talkative as Jordan it doesn't mean he's insecure. Alex has done plenty to help him break out of his shell. Don't ever talk about any of my sons like that again. I raise them well."

"I'm not critiquing your parenting skills, dear. I'm simply pointing out the fact that Cameron takes after you."

"And you have a problem with that?" she asked, taking offense to Samantha's newest snide comment. "Why does it matter to you how any of my children are? You don't have any kids and you most certainly have no idea how to raise them. Yes, my middle son is the quietest, but he's also the kindest one of the bunch. I'm sure that's a foreign word to you. Kindness, a characteristic you know nothing about."

"April, you have gone too far with your insults. Have you forgotten who recommended the Head of Trauma job for you? Without my help, other candidates would have been competing against you, but I prevented that," the cardio surgeon rebuked. "I don't ever recall receiving a thank you from you either."

April laughed off her argument. "I'm pretty sure I did, but you likely used it as another opportunity to gloat to your colleagues about how another Avery was working at this hospital."

"You can use the Avery name all you want, but you'll never live up to the expectations of being one," Samantha rudely implied, smirking at the trauma surgeon. "I understand you've had a rough year because of Jackson, but to tell you the truth, my brother would still be alive if you hadn't sent him out in the middle of the night to buy diapers."

And she finally struck the one nerve nobody would ever dare to mess with. "You are a coldhearted bitch!" the normally soft-spoken doctor yelled. Anybody passing by her closed office door most likely heard her outburst as well. "You have no _fucking _right blaming me for what happened to Jackson. None. And you need to get your facts straight. I wanted him to wait until the morning to buy more diapers, yet he insisted on buying them immediately because he would do anything for his kids and he had a heart – unlike you. It wasn't my fault nor was it his. It was a drunk driver and bad luck. So, go ahead. Go whine to Catherine about me like you always do. I don't care. I am done with your bullshit."

Samantha was left speechless as April stormed past her. Waiting for them outside were various nurses and doctors who had been eavesdropping since overhearing the younger surgeon raise her voice at Jackson's sister. Many of them fought back their smiles because nobody had ever really stood up to the cardio surgeon, but if professionalism wasn't a factor, she likely would have received a round of applause for her much needed speech.

April was too angry and full of rage to cry over Samantha's comment about Jackson. She needed to calm herself down and find her happy place for the sake of Baby Karev. The only two people who could brighten her mood again were Cameron and Logan, so she headed straight for the daycare center on the second floor. When she arrived inside she politely greeted the daycare workers before searching for her sons. Her middle child was drawing a picture at a table, while her youngest slapped his hands against a toy piano.

"Hey, sweetie pies!" she cheerfully greeted them. Logan recognized her voice, using his chubby legs to push himself up before he quickly waddled towards her. She picked him up and kissed his cheek a few times making him giggle loudly. "Are you behaving today?"

He blew a raspberry and grinned, causing her to laugh. She carried him towards Cameron's table and sat down on the small chair beside him, setting Logan on her lap. Her second baby was focused on completing his drawing. "Whatcha doin', Cam?"

The little boy with glasses pointed at his doodle. "I drawed dis," he softly said. The drawing was of a person with a cape almost resembling a Superman type of character. "It's Uncle Al'x. He's supa-hero."

"Aww, you're so sweet," she gushed, kissing the top of her 4-year old's head. "What makes him a superhero?"

"He scares da monsters under my bed and he can read," he sheepishly explained. "And umm, he takes care of you like Daddy when you's sick."

April wanted to wrap her arms around Cameron and squeeze him tightly. She admired how thoughtful and aware he was of Alex's new role in their lives. Spending time with her boys was exactly what she needed after another frustrating encounter with Samantha Avery.

* * *

While Alex met with Owen in his office, he chose to leave Amber with the person who invited her to fly to Seattle in the first place. He pulled Alice from Lexie's service, so he could keep his sister company and give her a tour of the hospital. On the way to work, he explained everything that had happened since Jackson's tragic car accident. He told her about how he simply wanted to be April's friend during the mourning process, but his feelings developed into something more. The move to Stanford, his attachment to the Avery boys, his hatred for Samantha. Anything he could come up with, so she would stop asking him questions.

"Let me get this straight. Alex started sleeping with April after Jackson died. Now, she's pregnant with my brother's kid and she already has three boys of her own. She's currently living in California, while he's here in Seattle," Amber summarized, then she chuckled. "None of this is weird to you?"

"You make it sound like Alex pounced on April when she was at her most vulnerable. They've only been together for about four months," Alice added as they slowly strolled down a hallway. "I don't think he planned on falling for her. It just happened. For what it's worth, he was a sad and pissy man before he started dating her. He had an attitude towards all of the residents and interns. But now, he's in a good place. He's happy, probably would be happier if he and April lived in the same zip code."

"What is your honest opinion of him? And don't worry, I won't kick your ass if you don't like him… or maybe I will depending on what you say about him," Amber playfully warned.

"When I first met him he was a little douchey," Alice admitted. "However, deep inside of that douchey exterior is a softy. He's lightened up a bit over the years since I met him about six years ago, but when it came to commitments and stuff he sucked at it. April's changed him for the better, though. He's looking forward to becoming a father. He already acts like one with Jordan, Cameron and Logan."

The nursing student slowly nodded her head in approval. "Nothing like our drug addicted father. I hardly knew him. Don't have many memories of him at all. I just know he beat our mom a lot and Alex kicked his ass so hard that he never came back," she recalled. "What about your dad?"

"He was the best. He really cared about my sisters and I," she answered, slightly frowning. "But umm… he died of a heart attack a little over five years ago."

"Oh. Sorry. My brother tried to kill me," Amber awkwardly replied. Alice was caught off-guard by the comment as she raised both of her eyebrows at her. "Not Alex, by the way. My other brother, Aaron. He's a schizophrenic."

"I heard Alex almost died too. There was a shooting here when he and April were third year residents. She talked her way out of getting shot, but he wasn't so lucky. Apparently, he almost bled out in an elevator."

Amber grimaced. "Damn. He never told me anything about that," she murmured to herself. "I wonder why."

Meredith and Cristina were walking towards their direction and stopped in front of Alice and Amber. The cardio surgeon eyed Amber's scar suspiciously, making the younger Karev highly uncomfortable.

"Dude, take a picture. It'll last longer," she sneered, furrowing her eyebrows at Cristina.

Alice gestured her hand towards Amber. "Dr. Grey, Dr. Yang. This is Amber Karev, Alex's sister. She's visiting for a week because I asked her to," she proudly introduced them.

"I should've figured that out when she said, 'Dude'," Meredith quipped, then she held out her hand and shook Amber's. "It's nice to finally meet you. We're Alex's oldest friends here. We were in the same residency class. Where's Alex?"

"Probably begging on his hands and knees for April's job back in Hunt's office," the first year resident jokingly answered. "April wants to leave Stanford and return to Seattle. Some more crap went down with Jackson's sister. And you know, there's the whole baby situation."

Cristina smirked at Meredith. "Huh, told ya she wouldn't last down there with Avery's sister. But hey, April's an upgrade to Banks. The ER was more organized when she was around. Who knew I'd miss her perky butt?"

"So, she's seriously coming back?" Meredith inquisitively asked. "I thought Alex was ready and willing to move down to California for her."

"He was, but after April told him she wanted to move back to Seattle, he changed his mind too. I personally don't mind at all," Alice gleefully said. She noticed over the general surgeon's shoulder Alex approaching them. "And here he is now."

Alex wasn't frowning nor was he pouting. Instead, he smiled at the four women, which was rare to see. "Hunt said he'll rehire April as soon as everything's settled at Stanford," he excitedly announced, drawing a bubbly cheer from Alice. Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he opened his photo gallery and showed them Cameron's drawing of him. April had taken a picture of it and sent it to him during his meeting with Owen. "And check it out. Cam thinks I'm a freaking superhero."

Cristina leaned forward to get a better look at the drawing. "Wow, he even gave you breasts."

He rolled his eyes after the others snickered. "Shut up. I'm pretty sure those are pecs. I'm a buffed up superhero."

"Is that why you didn't die after you got shot?" Amber inquired, resulting in unamused stares from the three attendings. She shrugged with a scowl on her face. "What? I just found out a couple of minutes ago that you got shot, Alex. I didn't realize I wasn't the only Karev to have a near death experience."

"Kepner, you told her?" he asked in annoyance.

"Why not? She's your sister," Alice nonchalantly responded. "Just another connection you two can bond over. Remember our deal? You're supposed to build a bridge with Amber, so you can understand what it's like to have a healthy sibling relationship."

Amber quickly pointed at Alice. "Is April as sappy as her?"

"She's practically a unicorn," Cristina quipped. She smiled after Alex nudged her with his elbow. "She balances out Evil Spawn, so it's not a bad thing at all."

"Evil Spawn?"

Alex escorted Amber away from his coworkers. "Let's go across the street for lunch," he proposed through gritted teeth. Gazing back at the three female doctors, they all playfully waved at him as he walked his sister to the closest elevator.

"Nice meeting you, Evil Spawnlette!" Cristina called out.

"Ignore her," he advised. "She eats babies for dinner."

* * *

Sitting across from each other at Joe's, Alex watched his sister indulge in a bacon cheeseburger, nachos and a basket of buffalo wings. It was either she had been starving or she ate like a horse. She was a Karev, though. He ate like a lumberjack, so it wasn't very surprising that she ate the same way.

"Hungry?" he teased.

"I'll admit I haven't really eaten much today. All they had were stupid corn nuts on the plane," Amber sheepishly replied. She pushed the nachos towards him. "Did you want some?"

"Nah," he declined, patting his abdomen. "Trying to keep the weight down. Took me a while to drop the beer belly for April."

Amber chuckled with a mouthful of burger. "You're like really serious about her, huh?" He shyly nodded before burying his face into his own bacon cheeseburger. "Are you gonna get married?"

He quickly shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. "I mean, I want to. I just don't know when the timing would be perfect for that. First, I need to figure out where all of the kids will be sleeping in my house when April moves back in a couple of weeks," he worriedly said. "Six people in that house isn't new, but four of them are going to be kids. It's a nice house, but it wasn't made for that many ankle biters."

"How many bedrooms do you have?"

"Well, three. I guess the new baby can sleep in mine and April's room for the time being, then maybe I'll start searching for a bigger house after that. Or I can turn the attic into another bedroom. Does the oldest kid in the family still think a renovated attic for a bedroom is cool?"

"I don't know. Did _you_ ever want to sleep in the attic?"

"Not in the house we lived in for a while," he answered, shuddering at the thought of rats and poisonous spiders living in the attic of his childhood home. "I suppose I can find a way to turn my attic into a bedroom without it feeling like it's an attic. Jordan's gonna want his privacy when he's older… if you know what I mean."

Amber groaned. "Gross! I'm eating, you ass."

Alex laughed before he sipped his beer. "I'm being realistic." His cell phone rang on the table, forcing him to wipe his greasy hands on his jeans when April's number appeared on the screen. He picked up his cell phone with a cheesy grin on his face because he couldn't wait to tell her the important news regarding her job at SGMW. "Hey, what's up?"

_"Hi! Did you get the picture I sent you?" his girlfriend happily greeted him._

"I did. Pretty cool, being a superhero and all," the peds surgeon said, instantly glaring at Amber after she pretended to grasp large, imaginary breasts in front of her to remind him of Cristina's joke. He dismissively waved his hand at her and rolled his eyes. "Guess what? I'm having lunch with Amber. Your nosy little sister convinced her to surprise me in Seattle."

_"Aww, she did? I'll have to call her later then for the gossip. And guess what I did? I told off Samantha and I mean, really told her off. Curse words included," April gloated. "She finally pushed me over the edge and I blew up at her."_

"Holy crap, seriously? I knew my Karev charm would rub off on you."

_"You wish," she giggled. "Please tell me you talked to Hunt and everything's going to be okay."_

"You got your job back." Alex temporarily moved his cell phone away from his ear as she shrieked in excitement. Even Amber could hear April from where she sat and laughed. He brought his cell phone back to his ear when she finished celebrating. "Hunt was relieved to hear that you wanted to come back. Banks sucks at running the ER, so he couldn't pass up the chance to have you back here."

_April sat in her office, smiling from ear to ear. "Thank you so much, Alex. You have no idea how eager I am to get out of this place now. It looks like our plan will work out. My last day is when you'll be here to check on your project at the children's hospital, then we can drive home together. I haven't told the boys yet about returning to Seattle, but they'll be ecstatic."_

"So, uhh… you won't get a chance to meet Amber by the time you come home, but do you want to talk to her?" His sister responded by showing him her hot wing sauce covered fingers while she shook her head. He smugly grinned and said, "Because she's so curious about you and wants to know more about you."

Amber wiped her hands with a napkin before Alex handed her his cell phone. "Uhh, hey… April, right?" She tried her hardest not to laugh at how fast April spoke on the other line. "Oh, yeah. Alex is making me feel totally welcome. He hasn't had me walking around with a brown paper bag over my head, so that's a plus."

Alex listened to her chat with April, occasionally laughing at whatever his girlfriend was telling her. Amber asked about Baby Karev and the Avery boys. She sounded genuinely interested in what the trauma surgeon had to say, while throwing in compliments about him that he felt he didn't deserve. He initially wanted her to leave the moment he found her waiting for him on his porch. But if she could get along with April, who didn't always have a positive effect on some people due to her overly perky and obsessive compulsive personality, then he would give bonding time a shot. She was the only blood relative he could lean on for moral support after all.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey, folks! Sorry for taking so long to update this. Went on vacation for a few days, then got caught up in writing another fic, but I didn't forget AK2 :) Anyway, there will be more frequent time jumping in the upcoming chapters to speed up Baby Karev's arrival.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Amber's unexpected visit to Seattle turned out be an eye opening experience for Alex. For the longest time, he had feared commitments and families because living in a broken home with an unpleasant childhood constantly reminded him that it wasn't always fluffy moments with sprinkles on top. Not everybody grew up with a family like the Cleavers, shiny and perfect. And the peds surgeon was used to screwing himself out of things that were good. He thought maybe marrying a woman and starting his own family wasn't meant to be after all.

But spending a week bonding with his kid sister finally helped him realize that perhaps he _can_ be a family man. He had gotten used to caring for April and the Avery boys, though preparing for his own baby was an entirely different experience. He thought he was going to be a father once before. With Ava- Rebecca Pope- the psychotic woman who he foolishly fell for. That was a mistake. He fell into a trap because he had been taking care of her the way he used to take care of his ill mother.

With April, it wasn't like that at all. They were equals – well, when they're finally living under the same roof they will be. Of course they had their share of disagreements. That was expected of considering they were raised very differently, but Amber gave them one more topic they could both relate to. April only knew how to grew up with sisters, so she talked her head off on the phone to his during their first meeting. The younger Karev couldn't believe a person could talk as much as the trauma surgeon did and remain interesting throughout the entire conversation.

_"April has a lot to say," he told Amber. "Get used to it."_

They laughed over the stories he told her about his perky girlfriend. Amber was slightly dumbfounded that her tough guy older brother had fallen for a woman like April. But she approved of her based on their chat over the phone. Sounded like a perfectly normal and lovable person who could control a hot headed man like Alex. They agreed she would return to Seattle during her Spring Break, so she could meet April in person.

He learned that he and Amber had a lot in common. She watched the Iowa wrestling team when they were in season, but she had never seen Alex compete while he attended the school. His kid sister enjoyed watching most sports like he did, so he realized how easy bonding with her could be in the future. Like himself, she loathed the chick flicks that April loved. They shared a passion for helping others. He promised to help her land a job in Seattle after she graduated from college. And instead of talking on the phone once a month, Alex was going to call her every week and actually try to chat with her on a personal level.

Perhaps being around Alice every week helped him appreciate his own sister more. He planned on thanking her by asking her to scrub in to his next major surgery. She deserved it after helping him connect with Amber better.

And he was looking forward to seeing April again because this time she and the children would be coming home with him. He felt some pressure, though. Alex only had two weeks to renovate the extra bedrooms of his house and being a surgeon didn't give him as much free time as he wanted. He recruited all of his friends at the hospital to assist him whether they wanted to or not. Painting and decorating the boys' bedrooms alone was damn near impossible.

He and April discussed the rooming situation and they agreed to have Jordan and Cameron share, while Logan got the smaller bedroom close to the staircase. The new baby would be sleeping in the master bedroom with them until they either renovated the attic or found a bigger house.

Alex entered the bedroom closest to his where Mark, Derek, Lexie and Meredith were working together. The Grey sisters were busy painting the walls a royal blue color, while their husbands were given the task of assembling the new bunk bed he purchased for Jordan and Cameron. He also bought packs of sports and outer space decals to support each boy's current interests, though he needed Alice to help him choose the decorations since he was terrible in that area.

"Looking good," he complimented, nodding his head in approval. "Thanks for helping, guys."

"More like, thanks for doing everything while I sit back and watch," Lexie teased, drawing an eye roll from him. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he really was sitting back and letting his coworkers do the work. "It's fine. I'm really excited to have April back. And I honestly cannot wait to talk to her about the baby. Izzie and I are already betting that this one will be a girl. How would you feel about that, Alex?"

He quickly shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me as long as the baby's healthy, I guess."

Meredith smiled at her friend as she dipped her roller into the paint. "I think Alex having a baby girl would be entertaining. I bet she would be a daddy's girl too," she implied.

"Oh! That would be so adorable," Lexie squealed. "Little Princess Karev. You would totally bow down to her."

"Whatever," Alex chuckled.

He never thought about it much, but a girl would be a nice change from the trio of boys April had popped out. He was certain his girlfriend was dying to have a daughter she could pamper and do mother-daughter activities with, but she refused to admit it. She too just wanted a healthy baby. It would probably be a running joke amongst their peers that Jackson produced boys, while he made girls.

"Boy or girl, my kid's going to be an All-State wrestler," he added.

"When are you going to throw a ring at her, Karev?" Mark asked inquisitively. He kept his eyes on the screw he was installing into a bedpost. "I don't know about you after the fallout with Stevens, but April's the marrying type. Gotta keep her happy, man."

"I have no freaking clue yet," Alex answered, shoving his hands inside of his pockets. He gazed down at his shoes as he swayed back and forth on his heels. Did they need to rush into marriage? April seemed happy with the way things currently were. Preparing for Baby Karev was his priority over wedding bells. "Maybe after the baby's born."

Then again, he was somewhat suspicious of Mark's intentions when he asked him about marriage. The plastic surgeon would always reserve a soft spot for Jackson no matter how well he treated April and the boys. Before his death, they were in a happy place. Jackson was a good husband and father. Alex wasn't quite sure he could match up to that, but he would give it his all to prevent _another_ woman from leaving him.

He quietly left the bedroom to check on the progress of Logan's. Inside were Cristina and Izzie. Owen took a break to help Alice watch the many kids playing in the living room downstairs. The two women had an easier job because they only had to paint and decorate the bedroom. The toddler's crib would be brought home from California along with most of the furniture that occupied his nursery at April's house.

Logan's room was painted a color called Celtic folklore, a shade of light green. Izzie was busy painting musical notes on one side of a wall using premade stencils. The youngest Avery boy loved music. At first, Alex and April thought he constantly smacked his hands on everything because it was the toddler thing to do, but it turned out he was trying to create his own music. And when the radio or the TV played music he danced around, clapping his hands and giggling loudly. Alex bought him a few toy instruments to amuse himself with.

"We're getting paid for this, right?" Cristina jokingly asked after she noticed Alex standing in the doorway. "I didn't postpone my atrial septic defect repair to work free labor for you."

"It's for a good cause. I suck at this decorating crap, so I prefer trusting people like you to do the work for me."

"This color sucks," she bluntly said.

"Your face sucks," he retorted, drawing a laugh from Izzie. Alex took a seat beside Cristina while avoiding leaning back against the wet wall. "Logan likes the color green. I didn't want plain green because it's too green. Forest green is too dark and there was no way in hell I was going with neon green. I read green can promote comfort and calmness. He'll pass out easily in his crib because the color helps people unwind. Celtic folklore is the perfect tone."

"Thanks for the tip, Martha Stewart," Cristina quipped.

Izzie decided to take a break from painting and set her brush down. "I think it's sweet that you care so much about how Logan's room should look," she complimented while she sat down across from her two coworkers. "The old Alex would've just splashed red paint around and call it a job well done."

"Well, I'd be an ass if I welcomed April and the kids into a half-assed decorated house," the peds surgeon said as he gazed around the unfinished bedroom walls. "And I want her to feel like it's her house too, not just a place she used to live in when we were residents. We're supposed to do the family thing now or whatever. I'm freaking scared to death."

Cristina gently patted Alex's shoulder. "You'll be a good parent, Evil Spawn. Those boys are used to being around you. You haven't drowned any of them yet in the tub, so that's a good sign."

"I'll be seeing them every day now – living in the same house. What if they don't take me seriously or don't listen to me because I'm not their dad?" he worriedly asked. "As far as I know, I'm still Uncle Alex. Until this baby is born, I'm not really anything."

"That is _not_ true, Alex," Izzie assured him. "The baby isn't here yet, but that doesn't mean you're not already a father. Maybe the boys will eventually call you Dad or maybe they won't. It can get a little awkward with step parents. However, you'll still be a father regardless."

Alex sighed. It wasn't until he bought a bunk bed for Jordan and Cameron did it him that he wasn't solely responsible for himself anymore. A pregnant girlfriend and three young boys were a part of his life now. His once empty home would be filled with high-pitched laughter and cries… maybe even gagging noises when morning sickness took a hit. And eventually, the sounds of a newborn crying in the middle of the night would join the orchestra of noise. For the longest time, he thought he would grow old alone because of his commitment fears. Now, everything he thought he would never have snuck up on him in less than a year.

He was scared, but he was ready.

* * *

As the next two weeks passed, Alex found himself back in Palo Alto for his monthly visit to the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. He spent the weekend following Dr. Reynolds around, monitoring their patients flown in from India and he also had the opportunity to scrub in and operate on one of the children. But he hoped time would fly by faster to the day he was bringing April and the kids back to Seattle.

She had been packing for a week, beginning with the less useful items until everything they were taking with them from the house was packed in boxes. When she broke the news to her sons about the move she was elated after Jordan shrieked with joy over it. He missed his buddies in Seattle, particularly Zola, Sofia and Henry, and he couldn't wait to see them again. And one comment he made was bittersweet, yet understandable.

_"We get to see Daddy again!" he reminded her._

Being in Seattle meant weekly visits to the cemetery to see Jackson again. April hardly wanted to mention it to Alex to avoid hurting his feelings, but she did miss talking to her late husband, as well as Charles and Reed about her current life events. It was a Mercy West thing. She would forever hold a strong bond with her deceased family.

Alex's arrival in Palo Alto also marked the eighth week of the pregnancy. Prior to packing up and leaving, the couple attended their second appointment. Not much to brag about, though Baby Karev now appeared on the ultrasound monitor. For April, it was like being pregnant for the first time, squealing and giggling at the peanut – as her boyfriend preferred to call it, to her dismay. On the outside, he was as cool as a cucumber, but deep inside, he felt overwhelmed.

_"Dude," was all he managed to say as he stared at his tiny human._

He had always heard from mothers in the Pediatrics department that men didn't become fathers until they first saw their newborn babies crying in their arms, but after finally "meeting" Baby Karev, he already felt like one. All of his worries and fears of becoming a father weren't as stressful anymore. His talk with Izzie and Cristina helped, though the sonogram eased away his uncertainties about fatherhood even more.

When the day before moving day arrived April was surprised to see not only David but Samantha at the house to help. Since blowing up at her sister-in-law, communication was slim to none. She had invited the cardio surgeon's husband to say her goodbyes. However, she hadn't officially done the same with Jackson's sister.

And Samantha wasn't sitting around watching their significant others carry boxes and furniture into the trailer. She pitched in too. It surprised the trauma surgeon enough that she skipped a work day to help her move. Although, maybe she desperately wanted her evil red headed sister-in-law gone as quickly as possible, April thought.

The boys were playing in the living room, while the adults rotated in and out of the house as they loaded the trailer attached to April's SUV. Alex made sure to team up with David because he refused to give Samantha the light of day. He had a long list of people he despised, but she had done enough to top them all.

"Can I ask you something, dude?" he said, while he and David carried a desk outside.

"Sure. What's up?"

Alex grunted as he and David lifted the desk and pushed it into the trailer. He turned to face the neurosurgeon and folded his arms. "I don't mean to sound like a jackass, but I want a truthful answer," he started. Looking back at the house, he asked, "Why did you marry Sam? What did you see in her?"

David simply chuckled, drawing a look of confusion from Alex. "You aren't the first person to ask me this question, Karev," he nonchalantly responded. Both of them took a seat on the edge of the inside of the trailer. "I don't know you very well, but I see some of Samantha in you."

"Dude, don't even joke like that," the peds surgeon retorted with a grimace. "I am _nothing_ like your wife."

"You're not afraid to speak your mind just like her. Neither of you ever want to back down from a fight until you win," the Asian man explained and laughed. "That's what I meant. And to answer your question, I married her because I've seen a side of her that nobody else ever does. Somewhere deep inside of that cold exterior is a warm hearted woman. You may not believe it, but I wouldn't have married her if I didn't know the real Samantha Avery."

"So, uhh… why does she act the way she does if she's not the bitch I think she is?"

"She enjoys feeling superior. When there's an award named after your grandfather high expectations are placed on you automatically. She's more concerned with living up to the great Avery name than making friends," David answered. He pointed at himself and smiled. "Took me two years into medical school to finally find the courage to talk to her because she was an Avery. Well, that and she gave people icy stares in class, so I was a little intimidated. She can actually be pretty funny when she lets her guard down."

Alex shifted in his seat as he cleared his throat. He didn't want to accept the fact that he and Samantha shared similar characteristics, but he believed he had a kinder heart than she did. He wouldn't have said the crap she had told April about Jackson or her lifestyle. Then again, he wondered whether or not she had fully moved on from her brother's death.

"How did she cope with Jackson after he died? Does she even talk about him or whatever?" he inquired.

"She doesn't know how to deal with it even months after he passed," David admitted with a frown. "Sam lashes out because she's still angry that he died. She refuses to accept it. And she sometimes takes it out on April because she can't physically yell at Jackson for leaving everybody. She loves April, she really does. It just bothers her seeing her happy with somebody else so fast. I know you two have been friends for a while, but Jackson was Sam's _brother_. There are some things you can never let go."

"So in other words, I will always be the so-called other guy to her, right?" Alex scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Doesn't give her the privilege to insult me when I haven't done anything wrong. Do you let her talk down to you the way she does with everyone else?"

David shook his head. "No way," he guffawed. "Otherwise, we would've divorced a long time ago. Most people outside of our circle don't understand our relationship, but we know why we're together. Sometimes you just gotta say, 'Fuck 'em'. If you know why you're with the person you love, why should you care about anybody else's opinions?"

"I know what you mean. I used to have a strong dislike towards April. She freaking pissed me off without her having to say a single word," he recalled. They bickered so much during their residency that he had been certain he wouldn't miss her if she disappeared and never returned. "Now, I can't imagine living without her. She always tried to get me or whatever, like she was some therapist. I sure as hell didn't appreciate it then, but I do now. It's not easy to break through my stubborn wall. She always knows how to do it, though."

Meanwhile in the house, April was upstairs in her bedroom debating which box to carry downstairs. Alex had warned her not to lift anything beyond her strength. He had grown paranoid about her overexerting herself and potentially harming Baby Karev. While she insisted he was worrying too much, that didn't stop him from nagging her until she finally let him win the argument.

Samantha partially entered the bedroom, stopping in the doorway. "Do you need more help with those?" she politely asked.

"No, I think I'm good, but thanks," the redhead murmured, her back facing the cardio surgeon.

"I don't blame you for continuing to hold a grudge against me," she said as she approached April. Her sister-in-law could barely look her in the eye whenever they were in the same room. "We've both said hurtful things to each other. Mother thinks I've been out of line many times with you."

"Ya think?" April sarcastically replied.

Samantha sighed in annoyance and folded her arms. "C'mon, April. Let's not do this today."

The younger surgeon turned around to face her. "I've always tried to make nice with you since the day we met, Samantha. I honestly hoped we could become closer after I moved here, but you never made me feel welcome. And then you blamed me for Jackson's death. A part of me doesn't want to forgive you for that one."

"I apologize for that comment. It was immature and disrespectful. I know it wasn't your fault," she truthfully stated, then she frowned. "Jackson and I rarely met eye to eye. You know that. But I miss him. We spoke on the phone the day before he passed away. He and I ended up arguing over Stanford. I had been pushing him to consider coming down here because I knew the Trauma department was going to have a replacement director soon. I thought you were perfect for the job, but he didn't want to leave Seattle."

"Really? He- he never told me about any of that."

"Because he didn't want you getting any ideas about moving to California," Samantha answered. "I wanted you here, but he was content with staying up North. And after he died, I just… took advantage. I mourned for a few days, then I started working towards getting you down here. Bringing you to Stanford didn't make me feel any better, though. I knew in the back of my mind that Jackson was shaking his head at me in his grave for using his death as an opportunity to lure you away from Seattle. I've been bitter ever since and it made me angry that you moved on from him with his best friend."

April sighed. "I never planned to fall for Alex and I don't think he expected to develop feelings for me either," she explained. "Both of us were hurting after Jackson died. We agreed to get through the grief together and… things just happened. And Alex is good. He doesn't always show it, but he's better than you think."

"And just because I'm with somebody else it doesn't mean I've forgotten about Jackson," she added. "I think about him every day when I wake up in the morning and before I go to sleep at night. My sons have so much of their father in them, so I'll never forget about him. He's not around to tell me this, but I do know he would want me to be happy no matter what. And I'm happy right now."

Samantha shook her head, rapidly blinking her eyes to hide the tears that had formed. "I don't know how you do it. Jackson was my brother, you were married to him and I've struggled to accept that he's gone," she tearfully admitted. "But you're able to move on, while I'm still expecting a phone call from him, so we can argue over another stupid thing. I told him he was selfish before he hung up on me. Those were my last words to him. Horrible, right? I called him selfish and he gets killed doing an unselfish act. It's karma for being such a terrible sister."

April quickly approached her. "No, it's not! It's not karma, okay? It wasn't my fault nor was it yours that Jackson died," she assured the cardio surgeon.

She was slightly caught off-guard when Samantha broke down in front of her. The last time she had seen her so fragile was at the funeral. Bottling up her feelings about Jackson for months finally took a toll on her.

"Maybe… maybe you should talk to a therapist about your feelings," she suggested, pulling Samantha in for a hug. "I'm not sure how much you tell David, but you can't hold everything in and pretend you're okay."

"I know, I know. I'm just used to constantly putting on a brave face for everybody," Samantha blubbered, returning the hug, which was a rarity because she wasn't the hugging type. "You kind of have to when you're an Avery. Grandfather always told us not to show our weak side, especially in the OR."

"Well, you don't have to follow his advice all of the time. You're allowed to be emotional," April said and softly laughed. "We're freaking human. You don't want to be a robot for the rest of your life, do you?"

"I do come off as a robot, huh?" Samantha answered with a chuckle. She pulled away from April, wiping her eyes with the back of her fingers. "For your information, I have a very impressive robot dance."

April stared at her sister-in-law, trying to hold back her laugh. She had trouble imagining the woman in front of her even bopping her head to any music. "So, you're a dork like me then?" she quipped, sharing a laugh with her. "Jackson didn't have a dancing bone in his body."

"Oh, he was _awful_," his sister groaned. "When we were little he thought he was Michael Jackson, trying to moonwalk and all of that jazz. He knocked over a lamp and broke it after his clumsy behind backed into it."

"That's the first time I've heard that story," she said, laughing along with Samantha. "Catherine used to always tell me embarrassing stories about him, but she never told me that one."

Samantha calmed herself down, then she sighed. "I umm… I'll miss you, April." She fidgeted with her fingers as she sheepishly grinned at the redhead. "You're an excellent surgeon. And you _are_ an Avery. What I said before, it was out of anger. I'm very sorry for every offensive comment I've said since you arrived."

"Come visit us in Seattle. Your mother's there and she would definitely appreciate your company. A vacation won't kill your surgical career," she replied with a smirk.

"Actually, she's been nagging me to come up in May – for obvious reasons," Samantha noted, referring to Jackson's death anniversary. "I had my doubts about flying up to Seattle to see my baby brother, but I'll be there. I would be the worst sister in the world if I didn't pay my respects."

"Thank you," April acknowledged and smiled. "And I'll miss you too."

* * *

Moving from Palo Alto to Seattle was exactly like the first drive. They left at 5 AM to dodge Monday morning traffic in California and to arrive in Washington by the evening. Unlike the drive down to the Bay Area, they didn't have Karen to keep an eye on the three Avery boys, so April volunteered to sit in the back with them. Fortunately, they were able to load the kids into the car without disrupting their sleep. She managed to relax for a couple of hours until Logan woke up, crabbier than ever. Then Cameron and Jordan followed suit an hour later.

With all three children awake, it meant the nursery rhymes playlist was necessary to keep them as cheerful as possible during the long road trip back to their original home. Alex immediately grimaced the second the sounds of a xylophone and high-pitched voices began to fill the car.

"Get used to it, Alex," she reminded him. "You'll be hearing it more often for another year or two."

"You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to that," he unenthusiastically replied.

"Mommy, are we having a brother or a sister?" Jordan asked curiously.

His mother smiled while she kissed the top of his head. "I don't know yet, baby. It's too early to find out right now," she answered. "But when the doctor tells us what we're having you and your brothers will be the first people to find out."

Out of the three boys, two of them didn't have their sex revealed until the day they were born. Cameron was the only child whose sex was announced prior to April's due date. She and Jackson flipped a coin to determine whether or not they would find out Logan's sex before or after his birth. With Baby Karev, she and Alex agreed to learn its gender as soon as possible. The latter was too impatient to wait a full nine months.

"Where do babies come from?" the eldest son questioned next.

April forced herself to laugh as she made eye contact with Alex through the rearview mirror. She wasn't ready for this talk and when the time came for it she had hoped Jackson would take care of it. He was better at bullshitting answers than she was. "Well… Uncle Alex would love to tell you where babies come from," she instigated. The peds surgeon softly groaned in response. "He works with a lot of babies from time to time, so he knows the answer."

Alex irritably bit down on his lower lip before he glanced at Jordan through the rearview mirror. "So, uhh… babies come from… you know those small sponges you throw in water and they grow into almost life sized people?"

"Uh huh!" the 6-year old chirped. "How does the sponge get into Mommy's belly?"

"Umm… a special doctor inserts the sponge into the belly, so it can grow in there," he awkwardly replied. "And in nine months, the sponge turns into a baby."

"But what makes the baby a boy or a girl?"

"The color," Alex answered. "Blue sponges are boys and pink sponges are girls. Get it now?"

Jordan furrowed his eyebrows as his little brain attempted to comprehend everything that was explained to him. He turned his head towards April, who nodded convincingly, then he grinned. "Was I a cute sponge?"

"Of course, dear. You were a very, very cute sponge," she happily stated. "All three of you boys were cute sponges. I wanted to eat you all up."

"You can't eat people, Mommy!" he said, covering his mouth with his hands as he giggled. "If you eat me, then I can't play soccer. And only monsters eat people. You're not a monster."

"Your Aunt Cristina is," Alex murmured and laughed when April leaned forward from her seat and slapped his shoulder. "Do you understand where babies come from now, little dude?"

"Uh huh! But…" Jordan scrunched his nose. "What about those sponges you buy at the store? Are those dead babies mommies and daddies didn't want?"

And the topic was no longer amusing, so Alex replied with, "Hey, want some ice cream?"

It was enough to sway the boy's mind from wanting an answer from him because he cheered loudly and started rambling about what flavor he wanted. Of course, April slightly scowled at Alex since it was only about to be nine in the morning and they hadn't stopped for breakfast yet, but she was thankful her son stopped talking about dead babies.

For the most part, the drive was smooth and they only had to make a few extra pit stops to change Logan's diaper. They arrived in Seattle just before 9 PM. Alex had done all of the driving and he was exhausted. The kids were passed out in their car seats and April couldn't stop smiling at the familiar scenery. She was glad to be home again.

Parking in front of his house, Alex got out of April's car and groaned as he stretched his arms over his head. Unloading the truck could wait until morning, but he needed to retrieve Logan's disassembled crib. The door of the trailer was tightly shut and he was about ready to kick at it until his girlfriend intervened.

"You don't have to do that now," she insisted, taking his hand and nodding her head back towards the house. "Let's get the boys inside before they wake up."

"But Logan doesn't have his freaking crib set up," he complained.

"He can sleep with us tonight, okay? Besides, you've been driving all day and you're clearly tired, so after we put Jordan and Cameron in their beds, we can go to sleep. We'll deal with the stuff in the trailer tomorrow."

Alex wasn't going to argue with her because sleep trumped unpacking at that point. He managed to get both Jordan and Cameron out of the car without waking them up, while April took care of Logan. Carrying the boys in both arms, he led her upstairs to their bedroom. She admired the newly decorated bedroom, which used to be hers when she first lived in Meredith's frat house. The boys were already changed into their pajamas before the final leg of the drive, so Alex carefully placed them in their new bunk bed, Cameron on the bottom and Jordan on top.

Closing the door behind him, he pointed towards the stairs. "I'll get our luggage and stuff. You can set Logan down."

He practically ran outside to the car, grabbing as many suitcases as he could. It took him three trips to retrieve their personal belongings, but he was too lazy and tired to bring them all upstairs. Instead, he left them in the living room before joining April and Logan in the master bedroom. By the time he walked inside, she was sleeping peacefully on the bed with her baby boy beside her.

Alex used the moment to take in his new reality. He would no longer be coming home to an empty house and sleeping in his bed alone. He was with somebody who cared about him as much as he cared at her. For over a decade, it felt like he had been with women who were never on the same page as him and those relationships eventually crashed and burned. He had a good sense this wouldn't happen with April.

He pulled the blanket over her legs, covering her abdomen as if he was tucking in Baby Karev as well. After quickly changing out of his clothes, he slowly climbed into bed hoping he wouldn't disturb the two Avery's beside him. He placed a gentle kiss on April's forehead, followed by another kiss on Logan's before he finally fell asleep.

* * *

April stood by the nurses' station updating one of her patient's charts. Every now and then, she would pause just to simply smile to herself because she could constantly feel Baby Karev moving around in her belly. She had been back at Seattle Grace Mercy West for almost two months now and she was in the 16th week of her pregnancy. While her scrubs hid her growing belly, she was definitely starting to show underneath her other clothes.

There was a lot to look forward to because Amber would be returning from Iowa for a week during her Spring Break, so she was excited to meet her in person. Also, there was a chance they could find out the baby's sex at her next appointment. Addison was now her obstetrician – and the only OB Alex trusted to keep an eye on his kid. He joked they would likely have to wait a little longer because the baby would have his stubborn genes and April's giddy genes would make it harder for the baby to stay still. But he desperately wanted to know if he would have to incorporate pink into his life.

Working in a familiar ER again was refreshing for her. She expected to be working under Kevin, but Owen surprised her – and her colleague – by designating them as co-Head's of the Trauma department. April had always been the Chief's first choice for the job and he felt she deserved better than the simple attending role. She had zero complaints about it, especially when the other attendings, residents and interns preferred her organizational skills over Kevin's.

Alex quietly snuck up on April, wrapping an arm over her abdomen and kissing her cheek. "Hey," he softly greeted her. "You want to get some lunch before or after your appointment?"

"Hmm… after? Maybe we'll have something to celebrate about," she answered, turning around to face him with a grin on her face. "I'm feeling really good vibes today. I think we'll know what we're having."

"What makes you think so?"

"A mother just knows," she confidently stated, looking down at her belly. "And the baby won't stop moving around. I think it's anxious for us to find out as well."

Alex placed his hand against her belly and frowned when he couldn't feel anything. "This baby hates me. It never moves when I want it to."

"The baby doesn't hate you. I don't think it's big enough for _you_ to feel the movements yet," she assured him. April chuckled at the pout on her boyfriend's face. Every time she mentioned the baby moving, he didn't hesitate to place his hand on her belly. And every time, he felt nothing. "Don't feel bad, babe. It's still too early."

"It's not fair."

"Don't even get me started on what's fair. You're not the one carrying this baby around for nine months," the trauma surgeon teased. "The only thing you should feel tortured about is driving down to Portland whenever I'm craving Voodoo Doughnuts."

"Awesome," he sarcastically replied and smirked. Alex slipped his hand into hers as he led her out of the pit. "C'mon, we got a baby's junk to discover in ten minutes."

* * *

**Will the baby's sex be revealed? :P Also, more Amber and maybe even a Jackson flashback in the next chapter!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Apologies for being slow! I've had family in town for the past few weeks, so I've been kept busy and had to push writing aside for both of my current fics. Anyway, here's a somewhat longer chapter for you! :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Baby's heartbeat is normal and healthy," Addison announced after the sound of Baby Karev's heartbeat filled the room.

It was enough for tears to form in April's eyes. Her hormones turned her into an emotional rollercoaster every time she was pregnant. She experienced it the most with Cameron, sometimes driving Jackson nuts with her sudden episodes of crying for no apparent reason. The sight of an elephant caring for its infant made her bawl once. At least her husband was able to stay calm throughout her raging hormone phases, despite wanting to rip his ears off.

Alex's patience was going to be greatly tested. He loathed the sounds of weeping women, including his own girlfriend. Of course, he couldn't tell her that, but he slightly grimaced when she choked back a sob. Gently squeezing her hand, he covered his face with the other.

"Can we check its junk now?" he muttered, almost whining. "We saw its fingers, toes, its gigantic head. You said you were saving the sex for last, so can we get a move on? You know, before April floods the room with her tears."

Addison shot the peds surgeon a look, slightly nodding her head towards the pregnant woman beside him. It was one of those "You need to be more sensitive" looks. A guy like Alex definitely needed to be. Despite his growth in maturity since their residency, he still showed shades of insensitivity. He partially blamed it on the fact that he was going to be a first time father and sometimes, he had no idea how to react.

There were days when Jackson whined and complained to him over drinks at Joe's. He loved his wife, but there were moments when he desperately needed to get away from the spontaneous crying and mood swings. Guy time with Alex was necessary to ease away his stress from dealing with a hormonal April. And the plastic surgeon was by far more patient than he was, so he promised himself to suck it up and remember it was the hormones acting out for her.

"Okay, can we check the baby's junk now, _please_?" Alex repeated his question, but more politely.

"Yes, we can check the baby's _genitals_ now," Addison corrected him, rolling her eyes. "But I can't guarantee we'll get anything. Baby needs to cooperate with me first. And even if we don't get it today, your next appointment will be much easier to figure it out."

If that was the case, Alex already wrote a mental note in his head to sneak in and perform an ultrasound himself every other day until they learned their kid's sex. He refused to wait another four weeks just to find out if he was having a rambunctious boy or a perky princess.

The room was silent as the other red headed doctor moved the ultrasound wand over April's abdomen. Just like Alex had suspected, Baby Karev was messing with them. So far, all Addison could get was its ass. They were mooned at least three times. One thing they could confirm was it was both shy and stubborn, a balanced combination of its parents.

April sighed. "C'mon, baby. There's no reason to be shy. It's just your mommy, your daddy and Dr. Montgomery," she pleaded in a high-pitched voice that made Alex cringe in his seat. "Now, open your legs for us, dammit!"

Alex raised both eyebrows as he stared at her wide-eyed. Her small outburst came out of nowhere and he had thought _he_ was the impatient one between the two of them. Even Addison was caught off-guard by April's demand, though she quietly laughed to herself as she continued her search for Baby Karev's precious jewels.

"I don't think yelling at our kid will give it much encouragement," he noted with a smirk.

"Well, I don't want to call the baby _it_ anymore. It sounds like our child is an alien or something," she complained, releasing her hand from his to fold her arms. "I'm trying my best to remain patient, but he or she can't hide their bits from us forever."

"You won't have to wait any longer," Addison stated as she pointed at the screen. She smiled at the couple. "Karev, you better start practicing your tea party etiquette because you're having a little girl."

April squealed in excitement and clapped her hands together. "A girl?! Are you a thousand percent sure?" she eagerly asked. Having a baby girl was a dream come true, but she wanted concrete confirmation. "You're very, very sure?"

Addison nodded. "Yes, Kepner. I am very sure." She pointed at the screen again. "Here's a clear view if you need more proof. Baby's legs are wide open, probably too wide for Karev's taste."

Alex softly chuckled. "I'm already putting my foot down. She's not dating until she's thirty," he quipped before kissing April's cheek. She had tears in her eyes again, but he didn't mind them. A baby girl. Jordan, Cameron and Logan were getting a sister. He was certain the trauma surgeon was relieved the ratio between penises and vaginas could finally change. "So uhh… our deal about putting this kid in wrestling is still on?"

"As long as she doesn't have a potty mouth," April tearfully answered, wiping away a tear with her finger. She couldn't shed the smile away from her face, feeling too damn happy about Baby Girl Karev. "I can't wait to call my mom and my sisters. They're gonna be so thrilled!"

"Congratulations, you two," the OB acknowledged. "I truly believe forcing you into my service when you were an intern turned you into the man you are today, Alex. You're going to be a great father. Well, you already are."

The peds surgeon sheepishly ducked his head. Receiving compliments still made him feel uneasy even when he believed he deserved them. He just wasn't used to being praised on a daily basis.

So they were officially having a girl. As the news finally sunk in, Alex realized he didn't know squat about taking care of girls. Operating on them was different since he only needed to know their health history and name, for the most part. Caring for his mother and Ava wasn't a reliable comparison either because they both had mental issues. He was too young to fully understand how to take care of Amber before they were placed into the foster system. Zola and Sofia were the best examples, yet they weren't under his watch 24/7.

And Baby Girl Karev was _his_ kid, his responsibility for the rest of his life. Buying clothes? He had enough trouble finding decent looking clothes for himself. Dating? A shotgun purchase was necessary. Girl talk? That was what April was for.

Father-daughter time – he could work with that. Ball games, teach her the art of the Xbox 360, spoil her with ice cream like he already did with Jordan. Discipline was important, but he also wanted to be the cool parent. He wanted his daughter to be able to trust him and not feel intimidated by his parenting.

Addison had finished scheduling April's next appointment, while Alex was lost in his world of thoughts. He helped the now perky redhead off of the examination table as he stood up. "Umm, thanks for finding her junk," he said, smiling awkwardly.

April lightly slapped his chest with the back of her hand. "Stop calling it that," she scolded him, then she grinned at the other redhead. "But yes, thank you for finding out the sex. We really appreciate it."

Waiting outside of the examination room, Alice jumped up to her feet when the door opened. "Okay, what are you two having?" she greeted them, catching both April and Alex by surprise. "C'mon, c'mon! The suspense is killing me."

"It's a girl!" the older Kepner proudly announced.

Alex rolled his eyes as the two sisters hugged while they bounced up and down. Their excited shrieks added to the torture, but he couldn't feel too annoyed with them. He gently patted their backs as a pathetic version of a hug. "Alright, alright. Just don't start singing 'We Are Family' in the middle of the hallway."

Alice pulled away from April before she smirked at Alex. "Oh, quit acting like this isn't a big deal," she teased, punching his shoulder hard. "I can't wait for the day you're stuck fixing your daughter's hair because April's already at work."

"Whatever," he dismissed, rubbing his shoulder. "I'm not entirely clueless. I know how to handle a baby girl."

"Okay, so… when she gets her period and she asks you how to use a tampon-"

"That's what April's for. Hell, even you," he scoffed. "I'm a dude. Like I know how to use a freaking tampon. My expertise is the condom. I doubt _she_ wants to explain to the boys how you use that."

"And I really hope that won't happen until they've reached adulthood," April warned him.

"Hey, if our baby girl can't date until she's thirty, none of the boys can knock up a chick until they're in college," he jokingly said, eliciting another slap on the chest from April. "What? That's fair, right?"

She rolled her eyes at him, then she hopped onto her tip toes to place a kiss on Alex's lips. "I have to head back to the pit. Well, after I find Lexie and Izzie and tell them the news," she cheerfully said. "We'll celebrate later!"

Alex watched her walk away with a bounce in her step. By the end of the day, the entire hospital would know what they were having. It was impossible for April to keep her mouth shut over the sex of their baby. He supposed it wasn't a big deal. Maybe they could steal Kevin and Jo's thunder. He hated listening to the couple constantly brag about their unborn son. Jo was two months away from her due date and a baby shower was scheduled the following month. Of course, he was forced to attend because the fifth year resident was his student and April loved these types of parties in general – and to show support for her fellow trauma surgeon.

"Okay, she's gone now, so tell me the truth. Are you happy? Terrified?" Alice questioned inquisitively. "This is your first baby, Alex. You gotta be a little scared."

"I'm trying not to be. For her," he murmured. "She's got this parenting thing in the bag. Me? I just hope this kid will freaking like me. I don't make friends easily, so if the baby comes out resenting me already, then I'm screwed."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," she assured him. "I know you're not the baby talking type, but maybe if you start bonding with her now, she'll know early on that you love her. Just give her a pep talk every night before bed. April will totally appreciate that."

He automatically scowled at her. "I don't do that baby talking crap. That's April's job. What the hell am I supposed to talk about anyway?"

"Whatever you want. Talk about your wrestling days or something. Just don't bring up your old dirty whore past. Keep it rated G." Alice patted Alex's shoulder as she walked past him. "Give it a shot. It may not be as goofy as you think. A lot of fathers do it. Anyway, congrats! I can't wait for my little niece to arrive."

Alex sighed as he walked the opposite direction. He couldn't imagine himself baby talking to April's belly at all. The high-pitched voice was definitely out of the question. But perhaps Alice was right. He needed to bond with the baby early. He once read a chapter from one of April's maternity books when she wasn't home. Apparently, talking to the belly had a positive effect on the baby. Like the baby might be able to recognize its parents' voices or whatever. He wasn't sure if that actually worked, but he still felt like a moron just thinking about giving it a try.

He went upstairs to the attendings lounge where Meredith and Cristina were having lunch together. They immediately gazed up at him with grins on their faces, eager to know the sex of his baby.

"What's the verdict, Karev?" the cardio surgeon asked.

"We're having a mini April," he replied, chuckling as he sat down at the dining table with his friends. "I'll wear pink for her, alright? Whatever. It's no big deal."

Meredith smiled. "That's great for you two. Congratulations. Any names yet?"

"Dude, we just found out she's a girl like twenty minutes ago. The names can wait," Alex retorted. "Besides, I can't think of girl names without remembering if I slept with a woman of that name."

"Ah, yes. I can see how that would give you trouble considering you've probably slept with every name out there," Cristina teased, drawing a scowl from her peer. "You can always name her after her cardio goddess aunt. No shame there."

"Cristina Karev? No thanks. Sounds like we married each other," he scoffed. "We are not naming our kid after anybody here. It's like a death wish. She already has to be delivered at Seattle Grace Mercy Death. I'm already anticipating some ridiculous disaster happening when April's in labor."

"Or you two can go the dork route and give her an 'A' name, so you can have the same initials," she added. "Oh, oh! What about Ava?"

Meredith giggled at the aggravated expression on Alex's face. "Right. Like he really wants to name his daughter after the crazy woman who peed on my couch and slit her wrist in my old kitchen."

"Mer, when you were pregnant with Nate did uhh… did Derek talk to your belly a lot?" he asked, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I mean, is it worth doing, despite how cheesy it is?"

"Well, we found it entertaining because sometimes Nate kicked a lot depending on whatever Derek was talking about. I can't say he was for sure responding to us, but it was neat," the general surgeon recalled. "He kicked the most when Derek summarized the surgeries he performed that day. He was convinced Nate will become a neurosurgeon because of that."

"Alice thinks I should start talking to April's belly and bond with our kid," Alex unenthusiastically said.

"You don't want to?"

"It just seems so damn stupid."

"I guess I can see where you're coming from. I highly doubt she wants to listen to you reminisce about the time you banged a dirty woman one night and then a different one the next," Cristina quipped. "Or the time Jackson kicked your ass when you tried to sleep with April."

"Shut up," he muttered angrily. "I have good stories I can tell. The baby probably wouldn't give a crap about them, though."

Meredith shook her head. "You don't know that for sure. Maybe she will be interested in what you have to say," she reassured him. "And you're are not a boring person. We've known that for years now, Alex. Anyway, nobody will be around to tease you. April certainly won't."

"And you might get laid faster if you do it," Cristina chimed in.

"I don't need to suck up to April to get laid," Alex arrogantly replied. He smugly grinned at his coworkers. "One of the advantages of her pregnancy, she is _horny_. No complaints from me in that area."

* * *

Alex walked into his bedroom after checking to make sure all three Avery boys were asleep. April sat upright on the bed, resting her back against the headboard while she read an article from one of the medical journals she subscribed to. Climbing into bed, Alex eyed the small bump underneath her tank top. He took a deep breath before he adjusted his position, laying on his side close to her belly and propping himself up with his elbow for support.

"Uhh… my junior year at Iowa. My team was in the national championship against Iowa State," he started. "We were at a deadlock and whoever won the last match would be the winner. You know, Iowa's a prestigious school when it comes to wrestling. At the time, we had won five consecutive national championships in a row. We're a freaking dynasty."

April's eyes peered over her journal, raising an eyebrow at her boyfriend. "Are you talking to me?"

"No, I'm trying to talk to our kid. Just shush for a minute. This one's good, I promise."

She softly chuckled as she returned to her article. "I see."

"Where was I? Oh, right. So it came down to me and this dude who was ranked ahead of me. No idea why because your dad was a far more superior wrestler than he was," he continued, resting his palm against her bump. "The match starts and I quickly nail him with a takedown. He counters with a reversal, so the score's tied, 2-2. We pretty much go back and forth, exchanging points and stuff and the first period ends with me down a point."

At this point, April set her journal aside as she grew intrigued by Alex's story. And he had become quite animated as his recollection of his wrestling days reached its climax.

"By the third period, we were deadlocked again and I sure as hel- _heck_ didn't want to go into overtime with this guy. I mean, I knew I could take him, but the crowd was against us because of our dominant reputation. Nobody wanted us to repeat as champs, so more pressure on me to win it for Iowa." Alex pushed himself up onto his knees, spreading his arms out. "With ten seconds left, I knew I had to make a move. But this guy, he was controlling me and I was the dude on the bottom. Down by three, I pulled off an escape, but I was still down by two. Then, I just went for it!"

He pounded his fists against the bed, making April laugh as the mattress bounced. "I get him with a takedown and with two seconds left, I pin him down and win by fall making us the national champions for the sixth straight time!" he concluded enthusiastically and grinned at the bump where Baby Girl Karev was potentially listening. "Your old man was a hero and I got crazy drunk-"

"Okay, okay! She doesn't need to hear that part of the story," April interrupted and laughed again. She ran her fingers along the back of Alex's head. "Wow, I had no idea your wrestling career was that fascinating. How come I didn't know about any of this?"

"I didn't think you cared much about wrestling," he answered, shrugging his shoulders. "And uhh, if I'm gonna do this talking thing with our baby, then I gotta tell her about one of the best times of my life. I felt like I was on top of the world at the time. No crazy mom to worry about or whatever."

"You should share that story with the boys. I bet Jordan will think you're this amazing wrestling god or something," she suggested. April furrowed her eyebrows and smirked at Alex, who gently placed his cheek against her belly. "What are you doing?"

"Bonding." He looked at her concerned. "My fat head won't crush her, right?"

"No, you're fine." She smiled, picking up her journal as he began telling another wrestling story. It was a different side of him that she hadn't seen until now, but she appreciated his efforts to bond more with their baby. And the little one fluttering in her belly let her know she enjoyed it too.

* * *

The following week, Amber arrived in Seattle to spend her Spring Break with Alex and April. To prepare for her return, the latter spent her off day cleaning the entire house. Everything smelled like lemon. There wasn't a speck of dust to be found anywhere. Alex picked his sister up from the airport, while April stayed at home with her boys.

Parking his car in the driveway, he removed his seatbelt and grabbed a hold of Amber's wrist before she could get out. "Alright. Remember not to cuss or say anything inappropriate in front of the kids," he reminded her.

"Uhh, why are you telling me this? You're the one with a potty mouth," she playfully retorted.

"I know, but I'm just warning you now because April's been having weird mood swings the past few days and anything can set her off, so be careful. Oh, and Jordan talks a lot. If he rambles, just go along with it."

"Which one's Jordan again?"

"You'll know right away," he answered with a smirk. They both got out of the car and Alex carried Amber's luggage towards the house. He opened the front door, letting her enter first before following her inside. "April, we're home."

"We're in the living room!" April chirped. She stood up from the couch when the two Karev's appeared in the living room. Quickly approaching them, the redhead grinned widely and threw her arms around Amber's shoulders. "Oh my gosh, it's so nice to finally meet you!"

Amber softly laughed as April suffocated her. "Right back at ya," she replied, returning the hug. "I'm guessing you're in a good mood today. I had a feeling Alex was worried over nothing."

Alex forced himself to smile when his girlfriend raised her eyebrow at him. "It's nothing. Whatever," he sheepishly said. He waved at the Avery boys, who were all seated on the couch. "Hey, little dudes. This is my sister. Come meet your Aunt Amber."

Jumping off of the couch first was Jordan, who sprinted towards the adults. "My mommy has a sponge growing in her tummy," he blurted out, drawing a look of confusion from Amber.

"What?" Amber slowly glanced at Alex, who gestured his hand towards Jordan and shrugged. She looked back at the little boy and smiled. "Wow, that's great. You're umm… Jordan?"

"Uh huh!"

"Sweet," she sighed, then she noticed Cameron shyly standing by the couch and Logan falling on his behind after finally climbing off of the couch. "And those are your brothers?"

Alex walked towards the two youngsters, picking up Logan with one arm and using his free hand to hold Cameron's. He brought them over to Amber and April. "The quiet one's Cam and the clumsy one is Logan," he introduced them.

"You three are freaking adorable," she complimented.

"We're gonna have a sister!" Jordan excitedly said. He poked April's belly with his finger. "She's in there."

Amber couldn't help but laugh at the 6-year old's lisp. His two front teeth had grown out since he lost them, but now there was a gap in the bottom row of his teeth. She also hadn't known the sex of the baby yet. April wanted her to be surprised and Jordan let out the secret early.

"Well, isn't that awesome? Are you happy about getting a little sister?"

Jordan nodded his head eagerly. "Mommy said it's about time the house had more astro-gin," he answered. The three adults chuckled at his mispronunciation of estrogen. "I dunno what that means, but Uncle Alex said he's looking forward to Mommy's big boo-"

Alex covered the little boy's mouth with his hand. "How about you sit down with Aunt Amber and tell her what you learned in school last Friday?" he suggested, interrupting his inappropriate comment. April shook her head at him, forcing himself to laugh. "Isn't he a funny kid? I have no idea where he gets that stuff."

April softly groaned to herself. "Anyway, have a seat, Amber. I'm going to prepare lunch and then we can get to know each other better later."

"You don't want any help?" Amber offered.

"No, no. You're the guest, so make yourself comfortable." She politely pushed the female Karev towards the couch, while Jordan followed her. Cameron seemed to be glued to Alex's leg and waved at him. "Do you want to be Mommy's helper, Cammy?"

Alex watched the middle boy scurry towards April, then he smiled at Logan. "Cool. I'll watch the littlest dude then- oww!" He grimaced after the 20-month old slapped his face and grinned mischievously at him. "Hey, remember what I told you? No hitting."

"Be nice, Logan," his mother reminded him before she went to the kitchen with Cameron.

Amber sat down on the couch with Jordan beside her. Alex occupied the other couch while he attempted to restrain Logan, who tried to wiggle out of his arms. "So, Jordan. What grade are you in?" she asked.

"I'm in Kind'rgarten," he answered, then he held up six fingers. "I'm six years old. I'm this many."

"Wow, you're old!" she joked.

"How old are you?"

"I'm 24." Amber playfully waved her fingers at Jordan. "Not enough fingers to show you."

Jordan pointed at the scar on her neck. "What's that?"

"Oh, uhh…" She self-consciously covered part of her scar with her hand. "It's a scar. I got cut badly there."

"Why?"

"Because umm… my brother wasn't being careful."

"Why?"

"He didn't know knives are dangerous."

"Why?"

Amber glanced over at Alex, who pretended not to listen to the conversation as he played with Logan. The smirk on his face let her know he wouldn't be rescuing her anytime soon. "Nobody told him not to play with knives."

"Why?"

"Alex…" she said through gritted teeth. "Help me out here, please."

"Hey, Jordan. Why don't you get that new yellow racecar from your room and show it to Aunt Amber?" he finally intervened, snickering when the boy sprinted out of the living room.

Amber mouthed to her brother, "I hate you," making him laugh again. "I can't believe you put me in that position."

"I just wanted you to realize how goofy he is. And he's in this phase where he asks a lot of 'Why?' questions. For once, it wasn't directed towards April or myself. He's funny, huh?"

"You're still a jerk," she replied, slightly smiling at him. "By the way, can you take me to that Sloan guy sometime before I leave? I want to know what he can do about this ugly scar, so I'm not asked a million 'Why?' questions again."

Alex nodded. "Sure. Although, we could've done it the last time you were here."

"Well, I choked when I saw what he looked like. You didn't tell me that man was amazingly hot, especially for somebody in his 40's."

"He's married."

"He's still hot. He makes you look like a chump," she teased.

"Whatever," he casually said. Alex gestured his hand up and down his body. "April can't get enough of this fine piece of meat."

Amber threw her head back and laughed loudly. "Oh my God, get over yourself, bro."

"Broooooo!" Logan babbled.

"See? He agrees with me."

"Not really. Logan tends to repeat every last word sometimes." The sound of stomping on the stairs meant Jordan was on his way back from his bedroom with his toy car. "That kid already likes you. Probably because you're the sister of his cool Uncle Alex."

"Please," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Is that what they'll always call you if April marries you?"

Alex opened his mouth to speak, but he didn't have an answer for Amber. He and April hadn't talked much about the subject. Would she want her sons to call him Dad? As far as he was concerned, Dad to them – except for the occasional Dada slips from Logan – was and always would be Jackson.

* * *

After lunch, April forced Alex to leave the house with the boys for an ice cream run. She wanted to spend one-on-one time with Amber without her older brother intruding in on their conversation, which she suspected he would do. As soon as Jordan and Cameron heard the words ice and cream, they couldn't stop begging the peds surgeon to drive them to Molly Moon's. He didn't have much of a choice after that.

"Here's your little niece," April cheerfully said as she handed Amber a sonogram picture of Baby Girl Karev. "So far, she's healthy."

"Ha, she's got a big head like her dad," she jokingly said while she stared at the profile view of the fetus. "I'm just kidding. Big head means she'll be smart like her parents. Although, Alex had his share of doing stupid things, despite being very intelligent."

"Yeah, when I first met him I couldn't understand how he got into the residency program. He was crude, obnoxious, disgusting…" April listed as she recalled her bantering days with Alex. "He was all of these things that turned me off, but he became better. He's a good person."

Amber nodded in agreement. "I think he always was. We just weren't exactly raised by good people. To be honest, I think you know Alex more than I do. Our relationship wasn't the greatest growing up because I rarely saw him. Aaron and I were always put together in the foster system. Alex was on his own, so I didn't have a lot of chances to get to know him and I don't think we would've gotten along much. Heard he had attitude problems. I was too young to decide if he was good or not."

"So, what do you think of him now?"

"He seems to be trying. In the past, it's not like he made an effort to reach out to me after Aaron attacked me. I know he visited the hospital, but sitting by my bed while I'm knocked out doesn't count as actually being there for me. I resented him a bit," she admitted. "Because I thought he didn't care about me."

"Alex deals with his issues when he's ready to… or when I force him to talk to me about them. I guess his unwillingness to be open with people has to do with the fact that nobody wanted to listen to him growing up, so he kept everything to himself," April explained. "He used to get incredibly pissed at me for trying to understand him, but we talk now, which is nice. A healthy relationship includes communication and that was one of his weaknesses."

"Your sons look like really good kids too. You know, Alex brags about them to me on the phone. It's weird, though. He hated our dad so much that I never thought he would ever want to be one. I assumed he didn't want to possibly ruin his own kids' lives." Amber lazily waved the sonogram picture in her hand. "I don't know if he talks to you about this, but I also think he worries about his child going crazy like our mom and brother. He doesn't want to go through that turmoil again."

April sighed. "He doesn't talk about that, but it's pretty obvious that's his biggest fear for our daughter. Whether or not she's born with a mental illness or five arms, we're going to love her the same way we love the boys."

"And speaking of the boys, would it be awkward to you if they didn't refer to Alex as Dad, but this baby girl will?" Amber asked curiously. "You two are going to get married eventually, right? I mean, when the timing is better for you guys."

"Yeah… I think so," she reluctantly answered and gently bit down on her lower lip. "He umm… did he tell you about Jackson? Like, what happened to him?"

"Somewhat. Told me the basics. Idiot drunk driver." She noticed the frown on April's face as she nodded. "I'm sorry. It uhh, it must have sucked ass, especially with little kids. I hope you didn't have to go through it alone."

April shook her head. "Oh, no. I had the support of my friends and family. And I also had Alex. Because of the boys, we spent a lot of time together. He's always been close to them, so when we started dating the transition wasn't entirely difficult. Just the long distance was a pain," she replied with a sad smile. "And to answer your other question, if they're comfortable with calling him Dad, then I'm all for it. I know he wants to be. He knows he won't replace Jackson, but I do want my sons to grow up with a father figure. Alex isn't perfect, but he's the man I trust the most with them."

"I must say, you aren't the type of woman I envisioned Alex being with. Then again, I haven't got a clue what type of women he used to go for," Amber confessed with a chuckle. "You're like super clean and Alex is a slob. Based on my first observation of you two during lunch, you have nothing in common. How do you work?"

"Opposites attract? What he isn't good at, I am and vice versa." April pointed at herself. "I never thought I was compatible with anybody because I'm umm… I'm awkward. And neurotic and anal retentive. Basically, everything Alex couldn't stand about me. I don't know how to explain it. We're just good together in a quirky way."

"That's a fair answer." Amber stood up from the couch and opened her suitcase. "I keep forgetting I have a little something for the baby. Since I didn't know the sex of your baby beforehand, I hope this is gender neutral enough for ya."

She held up an Iowa Hawkeyes onesie and April giggled. While it was Alex's alma mater, she continued to hold an allegiance towards her Ohio State Buckeyes thanks to Big Joe. "Alex didn't mention to you that I root for Ohio State, huh?"

"You do?" the younger Karev responded, scrunching her nose. "Now I _really_ don't understand how you two work. No offense, but Ohio State can kiss my Iowa loving ass."

"None taken, but considering this baby has Karev blood in her, I will happily accept your gift." Amber handed the onesie to April. She smiled at her daughter's first present. "Thank you. Alex will love this. And Hawkeyes logos only look good on baby clothes."

Amber rolled her eyes and laughed. "If you say so."

* * *

Amber's second visit was a success. After meeting with Mark, he was confident he could remove the large scar on her neck. The procedure would be done following her college graduation. She and Alex continued to plan her move to Seattle. April was all for having more family in town. The more help to watch the kids the easier their lives would be.

He brought his sister to a Sounders game with Jordan and Cameron joining them. Unlike her first visit when he was more concerned about bringing April and the kids home from California, Alex brought her to Seattle's landmarks. The Space Needle was her favorite because she discovered her tough brother was actually afraid of heights. She didn't hesitate to poke fun at him when he stood completely still in the corner away from the windows of the elevator, his knuckles pale as he clutched the railing tightly.

She went shopping with April and Alice on their days off, giving her a dose of sisterly bonding. The Kepner women weren't the type of girls she hung out with in high school, but she admired the fact that they made her feel welcome into their family. And the Avery boys quickly grew comfortable around her except it took three days for Cameron to finally talk to her.

The month of April arrived and the doctor of the same name was looking forward to celebrating her birthday. Her mother and her sisters were flying in to visit for a week. It would be their first time seeing each other since announcing her pregnancy to them on Christmas. And she was glad to have her friends from work to celebrate with as well. She tried not to think about Jackson's death anniversary creeping up on her. A year flew by fast. It was hard to believe her husband had died almost a full year ago.

But happy times came first. The trauma surgeon had another few weeks left before the dreaded day. She wasn't quite sure what she was going to do. Visiting Jackson at the cemetery was a must, not that she hadn't been doing so since returning to Seattle. April hardly wanted to feel depressed. She wanted to see his death anniversary as a time to reminisce about the good memories of the plastic surgeon instead of hosting a cry fest.

It was a quiet day in the ER. Only a few patients occupied the pit and they were all considered minor traumas. She let her residents take care of them, while she relaxed behind the nurses' station and picked out gifts for the baby registry at Babies 'R' Us. She had enough clothes and toys when she was pregnant with Logan, so she hadn't bothered with a baby shower. Now that she was having a daughter, she browsed through the infant girl section like a child trying to decide what toppings to put on their ice cream sundae. Pink, pink and more pink.

One of the nurses approached April appearing slightly frantic. "Dr. Avery, there's an incoming trauma about to arrive. A peds case. Should I page Robbins since Karev's off today?"

"Yes. Go ahead and do that. Tell her to meet me down here," April replied before she stood up from her seat. She wore a trauma gown and tied the back of it around her neck while she walked towards the exit and pointed at the nearest resident. "Perkins, come with me."

The sounds of the ambulance's sirens echoed as it neared the hospital. April waited for it to park, then she rushed towards the back. The doors swung open and she was shocked to see Alex inside, clutching Logan against his chest. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of Cameron crying hysterically. His tiny body was strapped down on the much larger gurney with his neck in a brace. His left arm was also splinted.

"Cammy! Oh my gosh, what happened?!" She wasn't a doctor anymore. Just a worried mother. "Alex, what happened?!"

"I-I I looked away for one freaking second, I swear!" Alex panicked as he jumped out of the ambulance carrying Logan in his arms. He watched the paramedics escort Cameron's stretcher worriedly. "I was changing Logan's diaper and the next thing I know, Cam's crying at the bottom of the stairs."

"He fell down the stairs?!" she exclaimed, rushing into the emergency room. April picked up his little hand and kissed the back of it. "It's okay, baby. Mommy's here."

"He might have a broken arm or whatever. I did everything I'm supposed to do. Checked for any tenderness elsewhere. He's not bleeding, but we should do a CT scan just to be on the safe side," Alex insisted, following them into a trauma room. "Those freaking stupid wooden stairs. The one damn time the gate was open. I… I thought it wasn't a big deal because I had Logan and Cam knows how to use the stairs."

Arizona entered the trauma room, softly gasping when she saw who her patient was. "Oh, dear. What happened?"

"Cam fell down the stairs, but I didn't mean for this to happen," Alex answered guiltily. He grimaced as Cameron cried loudly. He wasn't the biggest fan of hospitals. "Dude, he'll be okay, right? Do a CT scan for any possible subdural hemorrhaging or something!"

"Karev, you need to calm down. In fact, you and April need to leave the room," she advised.

"No! I'm not leaving him alone!" April argued. "He's scared of doctors and big machines and hospitals in general. I have to be here with him, so he doesn't freak out."

"You're a parent and not a doctor right now. I can't have you in here distracting me, alright?"

Alex pointed at himself. "Well, I can stay. I'm not biologically related to him."

"Fine. Alex, you can stay, but stand by the wall and don't open your mouth unless I ask you to," Arizona ordered as she pulled April away from Cameron. She placed her hands on the redhead's shoulders. "Cam will be just fine, okay? I've got this. Please, step outside with Logan and wait."

April inhaled sharply as she turned away to get Logan. Alex swallowed hard when she quickly scowled at him before she left the room. He knew he was in deep shit. All he had to do was stay at home with two out of the three Avery boys on his day off without killing either of them. Now, one of them was injured because he kept his eye off of him for about a minute. Mama Avery would for sure want to kill him as soon as she heard her favorite grandson ended up in the hospital on _his_ watch.

This type of crap certainly wouldn't win him any Father of the Year awards.

* * *

**I know I said there would be a Jackson flashback, but I'm saving it for the next chapter ;) Also, for anybody who's following LBOY I will update that soon!**


	18. Chapter 18

**I know I somewhat take forever updating this, but whoever's still reading, thank you for waiting!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_November 2014_

_Jackson stood behind the window of the nursery, staring at his newborn baby boy. He couldn't wipe the smile off of his face. April had given birth to their second son. Despite the fact he was two weeks late, he was healthy and perfect. The plastic surgeon was afraid to admit it, but he may have been crying more than his wife. Perhaps it was because it was their first time witnessing and experiencing the birth of their child. They hadn't had that experience with Jordan. He was busy operating on a patient, while she actually was a patient in another OR._

_But their son arrived fairly smoothly. April had been in pain until she was given an epidural. Jackson, on the other hand, underestimated her strength and used all of his power to hide the stinging pain in his hand when she squeezed the life out of it. He felt like a first-time father. His hand trembled when he cut the umbilical cord and he was paranoid about dropping his baby when he held him for the first time._

_The Avery's were now a family of four. Jordan was a proud big brother, placing a gentle kiss on his new brother's forehead after April asked him to. The 2-year old tried his hardest to pronounce the word brother except it came out as "bruttah". Family members from both sides were in town to celebrate the arrival of their newest relative. They all gushed over his tiny fingers and toes, but one problem remained._

_Baby Boy Avery didn't have a name._

_Which came as a surprise to everybody because they had expected Jackson and April to have a name ready for their son. The latter was known for making plans ahead of time. She had a list of boy names written in her red notebook. However, none of the names seemed to click for either parents when it was time to give their baby a name. They only had his middle name determined since they learned they were having another boy. Joseph, after the late Big Joe Kepner._

_So while April was getting much needed sleep in her recovery room, Jackson decided to visit their newborn. He purposefully requested to have his bassinet crib next to the window, so he could get a clear view of his son. The babies around him were wailing loudly, but the little Avery remained calm bundled up in his blanket. There was something special about him. Jackson couldn't figure it out yet, but he had a gut feeling his second child would be different from Jordan. And he suspected this one would be shy. He would immediately curl up against his or April's chests whenever a new visitor arrived. It would take some work for this kid to break out of his shell as he grew older._

_"Hey, man," Alex greeted his friend and stood beside him. The peds surgeon had been in surgery during the birth, but he made an effort to visit the couple as soon as he was finished. "I went to April's room, but she was asleep. Didn't want to bother her, so I thought I'd stop by and see how the kid's doing. Both of them are alright?"_

_"Yeah, they're both great. April was amazing. She nearly broke my hand, but no complications whatsoever," he answered, sharing a laugh with Alex. Jackson pointed out Baby Boy Avery. "There he is. I think he has her nose and my ears."_

_"You think he'll get her neurotic personality?" he quipped and received a playful nudge from the pretty boy. Alex held up a plush yellow duck with a cheesy grin on his face. "Bought this at the gift shop. It was the only stuffed animal that wasn't ugly or stupid looking, so I hope- uhh, what's the kid's moniker? What's his name?"_

_Jackson grimaced as he swayed back and forth on his heels. "He… doesn't have one yet. April and I are having trouble with his first name. Nothing in her list felt right, so he's nameless. Any ideas?"_

_"Dude, even I won't have a clue what to name my own kid when the time comes," he scoffed. "You're asking the wrong person for name advice. Anyway, congrats. The father thing suits you."_

_"You know, you'll probably be a good father one day. I've seen how you are with Jordan. You may not see it, but I do."_

_"Whatever," he softly chuckled. Alex believed he was a good godfather. Being a real father was entirely different. "Trust me, I don't think I'd be that great of a dad. Some people weren't born to be parents."_

_Jackson shook his head. "I used to have the same mentality, especially after my dad left us. You can't know for sure you'll be a good parent until you become one," he insisted. "I don't know how to explain the feeling. One of these days, you'll know what I mean, Karev."_

_Alex slowly nodded his head, though he wasn't entirely convinced he could ever be the type of father Jackson was. His best friend was laid back with Jordan and sometimes knew in advance what his son wanted before April did. He had the father gig down like it was natural for him all along. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous over the plastic surgeon's happiness._

_"Cameron," he blurted out, drawing a confused look from Jackson. He quickly pointed at the window. "I guess he looks like a Cameron to me."_

_"Cameron," Jackson slowly repeated. Staring back at his son, a smile formed on his face. "I like it. Where'd you get that from?"_

_"Well, uhh… that was my wrestling coach's name at Iowa. Tough guy, but gave a crap about me when nobody else did. If anybody was remotely close to being like a father to me, it was him," he answered, then shrugged his shoulders. "You don't have to use the name. It was the only name that popped up in my head."_

_"Honestly, I think you're spot on. He's Cameron," his friend confidently said. "Cameron Joseph Avery. I'm positive April will love the name too. Thanks for the help, man. You're a freaking lifesaver. I can't believe I'm saying this, but what would we do without you, Karev?"_

* * *

It was almost like a freaking nightmare. Alex felt fortunate the situation wasn't worse than it appeared, but the guilt was overwhelming. All it took was one minute for an accident to happen. He had been in Jordan and Cameron's bedroom playing with the two younger Avery boys when Logan's diaper required a much needed change. The bedroom wasn't too far down the hallway from Logan's, so he ordered the middle child to stay put. He could hear small footsteps running against the wooden floor, then loud thumps on the stairs, which were followed by shrill cries.

There was a partially wrecked remote controlled car nearby where Cameron was at the bottom of the stairs. He suspected the little boy had been chasing it carelessly and lost his balance before he toppled down the wooden staircase. No bones sticking out, but his left arm hurt. He was relieved that there wasn't a spot of blood. Of course, a CT scan was still appropriate to rule out brain hemorrhaging.

He cringed as Cameron screamed. One of the residents was checking out his left arm and the lightest touch set the scared child off. "Hey, will you be careful over there? His arm might be freaking broken for crying out loud," Alex snapped at the resident.

"Vitals are stable, pupils are equal and reactive to light and no signs of external bleeding anywhere," Arizona reported while she examined the crying 4-year old. She tried her best to comfort Cameron, but treating distressed children was always a daunting task. "We'll need an x-ray for his left arm and a CT scan for any possible internal bleeding in his brain and abdomen."

Alex watched from the side with a worried expression on his face. "So, he'll be alright?"

"Right now, it appears he will be fine, but we still need to run a few tests before we can start celebrating," the Head of Pediatric Surgery answered. She looked over her shoulder at him and sighed. "Accidents happen, Karev. This incident doesn't mean you're a crappy parent."

"Well, I still feel crappy. Did you see April when she left? She freaking hates me," he muttered.

"She'll eventually forgive you once she calms down," she assured him. Arizona started pushing Cameron's gurney towards the door. "I'm going to take him to Radiology. Check on April first, then go ahead and follow, okay?"

Alex followed Arizona out of the trauma room. April didn't hesitate to rush by Cameron's side while she carried Logan in her arms. He forced her to move away, holding her back by her waist. "They're just taking him up to Radiology. Robbins is letting me stay with him, so I'll update you as soon as I have news."

"I can't believe you let this happen," the trauma surgeon retorted.

"It was an accident!" he shouted, drawing stares from the various doctors and nurses nearby. As if they needed anymore attention, now he looked like a boyfriend with a bad temper. His outburst seemed to scare Logan, who buried his face into April's neck.

"Keep your voice down," April sternly whispered as she rubbed her baby boy's back. "Just go be with Cam. He needs somebody to calm him down or else he'll freak out during the CT scan. Since I can't be in there I'm going to page Alice and tell her to pick up Jordan from school. We'll talk later."

Alex didn't bother with the slow elevators and ran upstairs to Radiology. Cameron was being prepped for his CT scan and to nobody's surprise, he was crying again. Even Arizona's soothing voice hadn't comforted him. After wearing a lead apron to protect himself, he entered the room and approached the twosome. "I got it from here, thanks."

"Make sure he stays still," the blonde attending reminded him before she walked into the radiologist's room.

Looking down at Cameron, he sighed as he stared at his splinted arm. Alex wiped away the little boy's tears with the sleeve of his shirt. "Okay, buddy. I know you're scared, but I'll be here the whole time. They're just going to get a picture of your head and body, but you can't move around. You gotta stop crying and be brave."

"Arm hurts," he softly whimpered.

"I know, dude. When we're finished here you're gonna get a sweet cast on it and you'll get to pick what color you want for it. Then after that, we'll go get some ice cream. Cool, huh?" Alex was relieved to see a small smile form on Cameron's face. He removed his glasses and held them in his hand. "So when the table starts moving into the machine it's just like going to space in a rocket ship. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"No," Cameron murmured.

Alex grimaced. He thought Cameron would for sure enjoy the idea of space considering he was fascinated by anything that had to do with the subject. "Uhh… okay, well it won't take long and you'll be back before you know it," he reassured him. "And the quicker we get this done, the sooner you'll see Mommy, okay?"

"You stay here?"

"Yup. I'll be right beside you, little dude," he promised, leaning over the middle Avery boy and kissing his forehead. "Remember, no moving. It'll be over soon."

"Is he ready, Karev?" Arizona asked through the speaker. Her former student gave her a thumbs up, then she ordered the radiologist to start the machine. She smiled as Cameron remained calm while the table moved forward into the CT scanner. Alex had father written all over him, yet he was likely the last person to realize that. She felt like a proud mama bird. She pushed the button of the speaker and said, "You're doing a great job, Cammy. You too, Alex."

Alex glanced up at the window where he could see his boss. He furrowed his eyebrows at her and she simply flashed her perky grin in response. Rolling his eyes, he turned his attention back to Cameron. While Arizona was suddenly all about smiles and rainbows, he continued to feel guilty about the whole situation. He wondered how long it would take before Mama Avery charged at him for hurting her grandbaby – even though he didn't actually do anything to him.

Following the scans and x-ray, Arizona found April in the waiting room. She was still dressed in her scrubs, entertaining Logan by making funny faces and baby talking to him. The presence of the peds surgeon alerted her and she immediately jumped up to her feet.

"He's going to be fine," she announced, smiling as the redhead let out a sigh of relief. "CT scans came out clean, but he does have a greenstick fracture in his radius. And as you and I both know, he won't need surgery for that. He'll just be in a cast for about four weeks."

"Oh, thank goodness. I thought something worse happened to him because he looked like he was in so much pain. Where is he right now?"

"He's getting casted. I asked Callie to do it since Cam knows her and Alex is with them too. I'll take you to them now." Arizona led April out of the waiting room and looked back over her shoulder. "By the way, take it easy on Karev. You know he never wanted an accident like this to happen on his watch."

April sighed. "I know, I know. It's not _completely_ his fault," she muttered. Arizona raised an eyebrow at her in response. "Well, I meant that he should've known better than to leave the gate open. It's a common routine in the house now. The gates are always closed on the stairs for a reason."

"It was one mistake. You mean to tell me you haven't made any mistakes as a parent?" Arizona accusingly questioned. She liked the trauma surgeon, but she felt obligated to defend her peds attending first. "Alex is sorry, he feels bad and he did a fine job keeping your son calm during his scans. He's a good parent."

"I never said he wasn't."

"I know you didn't. I'm just telling you to cut him some slack," she advised. "Maybe it's because I know where he's coming from. He's taking care of kids who aren't technically his, but he's trying his best to be there for them. I was put in an awkward situation after I learned Callie was pregnant with Mark's baby. This isn't necessarily the same thing, but he is looking at it as if Cam was his own and not like he's some babysitter who screwed up on the job."

April stepped inside of an elevator with Arizona. "An accident like this one isn't going to complicate our relationship if that's what you're thinking. I wasn't going to be upset with him forever."

"Okay, then let him know that because he thinks you totally hate him."

When they arrived on the fourth floor they found Catherine and Alex arguing in the hallway. Mama Avery didn't appear too pleased with the peds surgeon, waving her finger at him with her other hand on her hip. April handed Logan to Arizona before she approached the quarrel.

"Hey, stop! Can you two calm down for a minute, please?" she demanded. "You're making a scene."

"She started it," Alex angrily replied and pointed at the urologist. "I was minding my own freaking business and cheering up Cam while he was being casted. Then, she barges in and starts yelling at me like a mad woman! She's acting like I murdered somebody!"

"Who lets a little boy fall down the stairs? My grandbaby could've been seriously hurt!" Catherine bickered.

He rolled his eyes. "I didn't _let_ him fall down the stairs. If I was that horrible of a person, I would've pushed him down myself."

While he fully expected her to blow up at him upon hearing the news of her favorite grandchild being in the hospital, he just wasn't in the mood to argue with her. "And for your information, Jackson dropped Cam on his head _twice_ when he was a baby and he was perfectly fine each time," Alex added. Both Catherine and April gasped simultaneously, then he cleared his throat as his eyes darted down at his shoes. "Shit. I guess he never told you about that."

Catherine stared back at him unamused by his comments. "Well, I can't exactly call up my son and scold him for that, now can I?" she sternly responded. "Let this be a lesson learned, Dr. Karev. You never keep your eye off of little children. Not even for a single second."

"Duh, I know that," he retorted. "I wasn't born yesterday."

"Alex," April intruded. "You don't have to be so rude."

"Whatever. Apparently, I can't do anything right today, so I'm leaving," Alex dejectedly said, throwing his arms up in frustration. He marched the opposite direction, ignoring protests from April and Arizona. "Tell Cam I'm sorry."

Logan pointed at Alex as he walked farther away from the group. "Dada buh-bye?"

Arizona raised both of her eyebrows. It was the first time somebody besides Alex and April heard the youngest Avery boy call him by that name. "Huh… well, aren't you a cutie pie?" She giggled, then she whispered. "Don't let your grandmother hear that yet."

* * *

The house was quiet. All of the boys were already in bed by 9 PM. It took longer for Cameron to fall asleep due to the discomfort in his casted arm. With a few pillow adjustments and three short books later, he finally shut his eyes. April patiently waited for Alex to arrive home. She hadn't seen or heard from him since he left the hospital. He needed the space because he was visibly stressed out and frustrated about what had happened earlier in the day. She still wanted to sit down and talk to him. He just had to come home first.

April slowly began to drift off on the couch until she heard the front door open. Alex briefly glimpsed inside of the living room as he walked past it and towards the kitchen. His greeting was barely audible, which let her know his bad mood hadn't disappeared yet.

She pushed herself up from the couch and followed him into the kitchen. He was putting away pints of ice cream in the freezer. "Umm… where have you been? I've called you at least a dozen times."

"I went to Joe's for a few hours. Didn't drink or anything. Just hung out with Joe for a while. Worked out at the gym for a couple of hours, hit the bag pretty good. Then, I went to Molly Moon's and bought five pints of ice cream," he answered in monotone. Alex held up one of the pints. "Bought a couple of chocolate for Cam, strawberry for Jordan and that honey lavender crap you love to eat."

He closed the freezer and opened the refrigerator to retrieve a bottle of beer. Twisting the cap open, he sat down on the stool beside the island counter. "Is Cam's arm better?"

"Somewhat. He's not liking the cast suffocating his arm, but he picked something called electric blue, which is a really bright shade of blue. I guess it's supposed to be neon…" Her cheerful rambling didn't seem to make the peds surgeon feel any better. Alex simply quietly sat in his seat while he sipped his beer. She frowned as she stepped towards him. "What happened today doesn't make you a bad parent."

"Do you even consider me a parent?" he negatively asked, then he pointed at her baby bump. "I know that's my kid in there, but she's not actually here yet, so do I count as a parent?"

"Of course you do, Alex. You've been taking care of the boys like a father," she assured him. "Why are you doubting yourself now?"

"I… I want to be their dad, but I'm _not_ their dad. I'm never gonna really be," Alex pessimistically answered, setting his beer behind him on the counter. "When they're older and more rebellious I'm gonna get that freaking 'You're not my father' crap when I try to discipline them. I don't think I'll ever be half the father Jackson was. Sometimes I still don't know what the hell I'm doing."

April moved closer, cupping Alex's cheeks. She placed a gentle kiss on his lips and smiled. "You're doing just fine. Nobody's perfect. I've had my share of mistakes too."

"But none of them sent any of the boys to the hospital as far as I'm concerned," he scoffed, shaking his head. "I can't help but think about how much worse this could've been. Fractured skull, brain damage, broken ribs-"

"There's no reason to think about that because Cam's fine. I don't want you to worry anymore." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead against his cheek. "But I think you should apologize to Catherine."

"Why? You missed the part when she called me an ignorant misfit," Alex bitterly replied. "She thinks I'm not good enough for you now just like Samantha did. Maybe if we just eloped or whatever, they'll all shut up."

The redhead slightly pulled away from him, raising her eyebrow at him. "Elope?"

Alex nervously laughed. "April, I wasn't being serious about eloping," he insisted. "I was mainly talking out of my ass. You know I do that all the time. And anyway, if we went through with it, not only will Catherine kill me but your mom will freaking run over my dead body with a car _after_ Catherine's done killing me."

"We've both done the wedding thing in a church with all of the beautiful decorations, the pretty clothes and the rest of the traditions that come with it. I know you don't want to do that again. It's not you," she argued, smirking at her boyfriend. "Why not just get married in private and get it out of the way?"

"Because eloping is not _you_," he countered. "And what about the kids? Shouldn't we talk to them first? Explaining the meaning of eloping is gonna be more complicated than the dating scene."

She softly laughed. "What kind of mother would I be if I remarried without my kids there?"

"Are you sure this isn't some hormone thing? Is our daughter controlling your brain and telling you to do things you normally wouldn't do?" he curiously asked.

When Alex mentioned the word elope he wasn't expecting April to agree to the idea. If anybody was a huge sucker for planned out, overly fluffy and tear jerking weddings, it was his girlfriend. She cried at just about every wedding of their coworkers at the hospital. Hunt and Yang's, which took place in his now living room. Callie and Arizona's. Her marriage to Jackson. Now that he thought about it, she hadn't shed a tear at Kevin and Jo's wedding. It happened just two months after they lost their best friend. She was more bitter than distraught and she definitely hadn't been in a celebratory mood.

Oh, yeah. She vomited on him after they got drunk at the reception. At least it was memorable in a peculiar way.

A part of him had grown sappy since he started dating the trauma surgeon. He blamed her perkiness and typically optimistic attitude about everything. Maybe he _did_ want to experience another traditional wedding and stare at her in an elegant white gown.

"It's not the hormones, Alex. I want to marry you, but we don't have to go through months and months of wedding planning because I know you're not into that," April truthfully answered. "I already had my dream wedding. Meredith and Derek had a quickie courthouse wedding, so why can't we?"

"Well, Mer always hated the idea of fancied up weddings and Derek didn't care how they got married as long as they finally went through with it. You, on the other hand, love that stuff and I don't want you to end up regretting getting hitched the same way." He gently squeezed her waist with a small grimace on his face. "Plus, I'm pretty sure Amber will freaking kill me if she learned I got married again and she had no idea for the second time."

"Wow, you're actually thinking rationally about this," she sheepishly admitted.

Alex quickly shrugged and smiled. "I make an effort." He leaned forward, kissing her forehead. "If you want another dolled up wedding, then I'm all for it. Just don't make me wear a stupid white suit or whatever."

"What if we uhh… still got married and had a traditional wedding later on?" April innocently suggested, her fingers playing with the collar of his jacket. She bit down on her lower lip as her eyes made direct contact with his. "People do it all the time. Let's be realistic for a second. After our baby girl is born, we won't have time to plan a wedding. Besides, my mom and my sisters have seen me get married. I don't think they'll be extremely hurt if we eloped behind their backs."

"True, but… it would be cool to have Amber here. And umm, Jackson's death anniversary is only a couple of weeks away," he reminded her. "It doesn't feel right. I mean, right now. We should wait. I want to wait."

April nodded in agreement. While she felt ready to marry Alex, he had a point. Marrying him prior to Jackson's death anniversary would be a slap in the face to the Avery's. She had already dealt with enough drama down in California, so she could happily live without any more of that. Plus, it was sweet of him to think of his kid sister. He wanted to marry her with Amber in attendance. How could she not appreciate that?

She smiled as she kissed him again. "I love you, Alex Karev, and I promise I won't force you to wear an ugly white suit on our wedding day."

"So, uhh… are we engaged?" Alex picked up her left hand and rubbed his thumb against the back of it. "I didn't exactly get down on one knee and make some cheesy speech about how I want to spend the rest of my life with you or anything. We kind of just decided we're going to get married one day, so I don't know if that meant we're officially engaged or-"

"You're rambling," his girlfriend cut him off and chuckled. "That's my job."

"You're freaking rubbing off on me, that's why," he quipped. Alex surprised April when he stood up and picked her up honeymoon style. He grinned at her as he carried her out of the kitchen. "We're a family of ramblers now. I can live with that. Now, answer my question."

She playfully rolled her eyes. "Yes, we're engaged. I didn't think you needed confirmation with all of the wedding talk we just had. You really are turning into me," the redhead teased.

He snickered in response. "Just don't expect my voice to be like yours too. That's where I draw the line."

"Oh, you are such a sweetheart," she sarcastically replied, then she giggled. "You jerk."

"Whatever. You're in love with this jerk and the jerk loves you too," Alex gloated as he entered their bedroom, closing the door behind him with his foot.

* * *

Three days later, April's mother and her sisters arrived in Seattle from their respective locations. Her birthday fell on a weekday, so they made plans to have dinner at the house and celebrate even more during the weekend. She sent Alice to pick up their family members, while Izzie and Lexie came over to cook dinner for them.

Her family would be arriving at any minute, but Alex seemed to be hiding upstairs. Mark and Izzie's husband Brad were in the living room watching all of the children, so she used the opportunity to check on him. She heard the bathtub water running in the master bathroom where she found him leaning over and rinsing his hair underneath the faucet. The boxes of hair coloring and the brown stains on the sink gave away exactly what he was doing.

"Alex, you're dying your hair right now? My mom and my sisters are going to be here soon!"

Alex banged the back of his head against the faucet after he lifted it up in a panic. "Shit!" he cursed at himself, wincing in pain. He turned off the running water and covered his hair with a towel before he stood up to face April. "You didn't tell me I had a bunch of gray sprouting in my hair."

"I hadn't noticed," she answered, fighting back a laugh. "But why do you have to do that _now_?"

"Because this was the only time I could do this without having to watch any of the kids," he explained while he dried his hair. "I promise I'll clean up the bathroom before I come down. Just don't tell anybody I dyed my hair. I don't want them to think I'm insecure about how I look because I'm pushing freaking forty."

April walked towards him with a smirk on her face. "You're acting like you're the only person in the world who colors their hair to hide the dreaded gray hairs."

"I don't want the first thing our baby sees when she's born is my gray hair. She's gonna think I'm a grandpa or whatever," he muttered.

"She wouldn't think that. Besides, her eyesight won't even be that clear right after she's born. Look at Sloan, he doesn't care that he has some grays showing in his hair."

"Well, he's old," Alex scoffed.

The redhead playfully shoved him and laughed. "He is not _that_ old. Don't worry about it. I doubt anybody will notice. Anyway, hurry up. They'll be here any minute now," she ordered, quickly giving him a kiss before she left the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang and April excitedly opened the door. "You're here!" she squealed as Karen and the rest of the Kepner sisters entered the house.

"Happy Birthday, sweetie," her mother greeted April, hugging her tightly. She placed her palms against the small baby bump and grinned. "I already knitted at least eight booties for my new granddaughter. They're in my suitcase."

"Yeah, she went a little overboard with that," Libby teased. "She's already working on sweater number two at home."

April dismissively waved her hand and smiled. "It's fine. Mom's allowed to spoil her all she wants. Hey, Alice. Where's Shane?" Her youngest sister responded with an icy stare as she walked past her and into the kitchen. "Uhh, what was that about?"

"Oh, she and Shane had some sort of fight last night, so she's grumpy," Kimmie replied with a shrug. "I'm surprised she never told you considering you two talk about everything."

"I had no idea. Hmm… I'll go see what's wrong. Why don't you three make yourselves comfortable in the living room? The boys are in there with their little friends and you've met Mark and Brad before. Alex will be coming down shortly. I'll be right back." April followed Alice into the kitchen where both Izzie and Lexie watched the first year resident hack at defenseless carrots with a butcher knife. "Al, I'm pretty sure the carrots are dead."

Alice slammed the knife down against the cutting board. "Why do men always think they have to get their way all the time? They already have the authority to knock us up in this chauvinistic pig world!" she ranted, catching the other three women off-guard.

"Whoa, hold your horses. What happened?" the elder Kepner questioned. "Kimmie told me you and Shane had a fight. And how come you didn't tell me?"

"Because I was too infuriated to talk to anybody. Shane's been saying he plans on doing his fellowship at Seattle Grace because of his man crush on Shepherd, but all of a sudden – and this literally came out of nowhere – he told me Mass Gen offered him a fellowship and he wants to go there instead!" Alice complained, picking up the knife again and cutting up more carrots. "And he, for whatever reason, expected me to be fully on board with it like I'll just pack up and move with him. Does he not realize I'm just a first year? It wasn't easy getting into Seattle Grace Mercy West. A hospital like Mass Gen is almost nearly impossible to transfer into."

"There's also The Brigham," Izzie noted. "And Mass Gen isn't the only hospital in Boston."

Alice sighed. "I know, but I don't want to leave."

"Maybe Catherine Avery can send you a special recommendation for Mass Gen," Lexie suggested. "She likes you."

"But I don't want to use the Avery name to get into Mass Gen. Wasn't that Jackson's biggest pet peeve? People using his last name for favors?" she asked, glancing up at April. "And I bet you hate it too since you're still going by Avery."

"Perhaps not for long," the trauma surgeon mumbled to herself.

A smile slowly formed on Lexie's face. "What do you mean by that?" She immediately gasped. "Oh my God! You and Alex are…"

April shyly nodded. "We're engaged." She softly chuckled as her two best friends charged towards her, attacking her with hugs. "Before you ask, there's no ring yet. We sort of just casually decided to get engaged the other day. We want to make a formal announcement at dinner, okay? Pretend you know nothing."

Alice cleared her throat. "Hello? I'm in the middle of a crisis, Apes! I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm internally happy for you, but what about me? You're already pregnant, we just dealt with Cam in the hospital and now you're freaking engaged! Can't something be about _me_ for once without the attention deflecting back to you?"

The youngest Kepner sister stormed out of the kitchen as April slightly frowned. Out of all of her sisters, she had never really gotten into a fight with Alice over anything. She noticed they hadn't been as close as they used to be since she moved back from California. It wasn't until Kimmie mentioned her fight with Shane that she realized Alice hadn't been automatically calling her or coming to her at the hospital whenever she had a problem like in the past. Now it hurt a little because she was always closest to Alice.

Alex entered the kitchen wearing a clean shirt and running his fingers through his now dry hair. "Hey, is dinner ready? I'm freaking starving."

"Almost. We're just waiting for the lasagna to finish," Izzie answered, then she scrunched her nose after she smelled an unpleasant scent. She approached Alex and sniffed his hair. "You smell like hair dye. Did you just dye your hair?"

"Shut up. No, I didn't," he unconvincingly denied. Alex scowled as the oncologist and Lexie both giggled at him. "What? Like neither of you dyed your hair before."

"Not right before dinner," Lexie stated and fanned her hand in front of her nose. "Geez, Alex. It really stinks."

April gently pushed Alex out of the kitchen. "Ignore them. Your hair is fine," she assured him as she followed him out. She brought him to the living room where everyone else was gathered. "Mom, here's Alex."

Mark pointed at the peds surgeon. "Hey, you colored your hair. Not bad."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Dammit, I knew I bought the wrong color," he muttered. He spotted Jordan sitting in the corner with his arms folded and a pout on his face. "Dude, why is Jordan sitting all the way over there?"

"Poor guy's jealous over the fact that Cam's getting all of the attention because of his cast," the plastic surgeon answered in amusement. "He wants to break his own arm and get a cast too."

"Umm, yeah… that's not happening," April quickly shot the idea down. She took her boyfriend's hand and led him to the center of the living room. "So, we have an announcement to make. Lexie and Izzie already know, so I'd like to share this with the rest of you. Alex and I are engaged."

Alex forced himself to smile after receiving subtle reactions from the Kepner side. "We plan on having a wedding even though April wanted to elope-" He let out a low grunt when she swung her elbow into his abdomen. "We're not rushing things."

Karen slowly nodded her head. "That's good to hear. In fact, you two should get married on the farm."

"Uhh, with the dirty pigs and fat cow-" He paused as Mama Kepner sternly stared back at him. "I bet you have a cool lookin' farm, Karen, but I think a wedding in Seattle would be more convenient for most of us."

"I'm not getting any younger, dear. April, I'm not so sure I have a lot of years left in me," she claimed, placing her hand against her heart.

"Mom, you're perfectly healthy. You're not dying," April replied, furrowing her eyebrows at her. "And Alex is right. If we decide to get married before the baby's born, I don't want to put our health at risk by flying. There are a lot of gorgeous venues right here in Seattle."

"Then, we can wait until _after_ she's born. It was always your father's dream to have a wedding on the farm. Libby eloped in Columbus and Kimmie got married in New York. Alice won't be getting married anytime soon-"

"Thanks, Mom," Alice interrupted, rolling her eyes.

Karen raised her hand to silence her daughter. "How often do you come home, April? Maybe once every two or three years because you were so busy working or you were off in Boston with the Avery's. Can you just do this one favor for me, please?" she pleaded. "For your father?"

April took a deep breath and exhaled. Guilt trip at its finest and Karen pulled the Big Joe card on her. "Okay, fine. When the timing's right we'll get married in Moline." Her mother responded with a sudden cheerful mood, jumping up from the couch to hug the couple. "I guess this means you're okay with our engagement then."

"I think my cholesterol even dropped a little."

"Oh, geez," Libby scoffed, quietly laughing to herself as she shook her head. "Thanks for not killing her, April."

Catching a glimpse of Alex while Karen continued to bear hug them both, April noticed how uncomfortable he appeared. She suspected he was imagining a stereotypical wedding with straw hats and overalls, but if they were going to be husband and wife, he deserved to see where she grew up and vice versa.

Unfortunately, she hardly expected him to do the same and bring her home to Iowa.

* * *

**I have no idea how many more chapters are left yet, but it'll probably go past my usual 20. Anyway, I hope you're still enjoying this fic :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Apologies for being so slow updating this fic! Other fics took priority, but here's another update for you and I hope waiting was worth it :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

One year. A whole freakin' year had passed since Jackson's awful fate was decided. It hadn't felt like an entire year. For everybody close to the plastic surgeon, time flew by faster than they realized. April had mixed emotions over his death anniversary. She once thought she would never be able to move on after he died. Three little boys to take care of by herself? She couldn't figure out how she would handle that, but she had family and coworkers lending a hand, so she wasn't completely alone.

And she had Alex.

After falling in love with Jackson, she never imagined she could feel the same way about another man, let alone Alex Karev. It took them years before they considered each other friends. Sure, she crushed on him in the past, but it was a mistake at the time. He was cruel and almost always rude to her. They were hardly compatible.

But he stepped up and _wanted_ to be April's support system because Jackson was their best friend. He helped them build a closer friendship when he was alive. It scared the crap out of the peds surgeon when he started developing feelings for her. To him, she was very much off-limits. He was also afraid of rejection because it happened to him more often than he would have liked. After his relationship with Jo ended badly, he was reluctant to commit himself to anybody again. He had grown tired of being hurt all of the time because his insecurities always prevailed.

April gave him another chance to be responsible for somebody other than himself. And Alex gave her another chance to live happily ever after all over again.

She lay flat on her back in bed and stared at the ceiling. The alarm clock on the bedside table hadn't gone off when she woke up, so she turned it off and let her fiancé sleep peacefully. His hand rested on her baby bump as he snoozed away, a routine he had grown accustomed to. And she didn't mind. He loved their baby, despite the fact he was quick to roll his eyes whenever their friends at worked gushed at how soft he had become since learning he was going to be a father.

It was barely 6 AM and they were in for a busy day. Owen had suggested to the trauma surgeon to take the day off from work, but she preferred keeping herself occupied in the pit. She wanted Jackson's death anniversary to feel like a normal day. She didn't want to be treated any differently, so she insisted on showing up at the hospital.

The house was quiet, which meant Jordan, Cameron and Logan were still asleep. She fully expected the baby monitor to blow up at any second. Being the youngest with a different internal clock, Logan always woke up first. So she waited for his voice to force her to climb out of bed.

While she waited, she thought about Jackson and what he was currently doing. Maybe hanging out with Charles and Reed like the good old days at Mercy West. She wondered how often he watched her from heaven, if he would be okay with her being engaged to Alex. Would he be upset that she was having a baby with another man who was also his best friend?

This was why she partly loathed May 17th. She was feeling guilty all over again.

April heard footsteps quickly approaching their bedroom, which were followed by loud slaps against the door. Jordan and Cameron knew how to knock and whoever was standing outside was much shorter than the doorknob. The only other person in the house was…

"Oh my gosh!" she yelped, sliding out of bed and waking up Alex in the process. Opening the door, she looked down at Logan, who giggled with glee at the sight of his mother. "Did you climb out of your crib?!"

Thinking her baby boy may have hurt himself, April picked him up and carried him to the bed. She examined his arms, legs and every other inch of his body for bruising or bleeding. He appeared unscathed. "Alex!"

Alex rubbed his eyes as he rolled over onto his stomach. "What?" he mumbled into his pillow. His fiancée slapped his shoulder in response. "Hey, at least give me freaking time to wake up before you start smacking me."

"This is important! Logan climbed out of his crib and he could be bleeding internally or- or what if he hit his head?" she panicked, checking for any sign of blood on his head. April ran her fingers through Logan's dark curls, while he thought it was the funniest thing ever and continued to giggle. "And he thinks this is funny!"

"He seems fine to me," Alex nonchalantly said. He rolled his eyes knowing she was being overly cautious after what happened to Cameron a few weeks ago.

"You're the peds expert here. Can you please make sure he's not going to suddenly pass out any second now?"

Taking Logan from April, the peds surgeon sat him down on his lap. "I'm telling you, he's fine. You're paranoid," he insisted. He reached for the drawer of the bedside table and pulled out a small flashlight. Alex did a quick neuro exam, checking his pupils for any unevenness and having him follow his finger. "Everything's good, April."

"But how could he have possibly escaped his crib without getting hurt? It's sort of a high drop for somebody his size," she worriedly stated. "And he's not even two years old yet. He's not old enough for a bed."

Alex shrugged as he rubbed the top of Logan's hair, softly chuckling as it stood up. "He's got Jackson's athletic genes," he implied. She slightly frowned after hearing the plastic surgeon's name. "We're gonna be hearing it all day. We just have to deal, okay?"

"What if I don't want to? I'm already expecting people to think I'll be moping all day because today marks Jackson's first death anniversary. And you know what? I won't be moping, but then they'll all assume I don't care about him anymore."

"Well, then they're stupid," he bluntly said. "Of course you still care about him. If you didn't, hearing his name wouldn't bother you. It's awkward for me too, alright? Today will be the one day when I'm seen as _the other guy_ for obvious reasons."

April shook her head. "No, you won't."

"His sisters are gonna be in town. Just because you and Samantha are currently on good terms it doesn't mean she'll treat me the same way. I bet she still secretly wants to suffocate me with a pillow in my sleep," Alex scoffed. He slid off of the bed, holding Logan over his shoulder. "I'll wake up the boys and help them get ready. Just relax for a while, jump in the shower. I've got this."

She smiled when she caught Logan waving at her as Alex walked out of their bedroom. "Thank you, Alex."

Before waking up Jordan and Cameron in their bedroom, he decided to figure out just how the youngest Avery boy climbed out of his crib. Alex played it cool in front of April, but internally, he was just as concerned. He wondered if Logan landed hard on the wooden floor and didn't feel a thing like those children with CIPA, Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis.

During his intern year, he treated a patient with that condition. Megan Clover was her name. At first, Alex questioned whether or not her adoptive parents were abusive because her injuries appeared suspicious. She claimed she had superpowers and couldn't feel pain, so she dared him numerous times to punch her in the stomach. They even took part in a friendly competition to see who could keep their hand in a bowl of ice water the longest. Of course, she won. That was when her condition was diagnosed.

He hoped that wasn't the case with Logan because he was positive April would make him childproof the entire house, not that it wasn't already. Probably bubble wrap her son, so he wouldn't hurt himself.

Upon entering the bedroom, Alex discovered the dark green bean bag chair beside Logan's crib. Perhaps he was a daredevil in the making, but he couldn't know for sure. He doubted he would be able to get through to the toddler. If only he could test his pain tolerance. However, he refused to give the little dude a pinch. It only made him feel like some abusive parent and he was nothing like his father.

"Dude, I don't know how you did it, but I'm going to get to the bottom of this," he declared before leaving Logan's bedroom to wake up the other two Avery boys.

* * *

Normally, April and Alex dropped off Cameron and Logan at the daycare center together, a routine she had done with Jackson in the past. However, he convinced her to skip their daily ritual, so she could change into her scrubs sooner. Her third trimester was just around the corner and the weight she had gained was beginning to take a toll on her. And working a job that required her to be on her feet a lot made for many stressful days.

Instead of leaving the youngest Avery at daycare, Alex decided to give him a quick check up. He waited in an empty examination room, while he waited for help to arrive. Logan was seated on the exam table chugging down the apple juice in his sippy cup.

"Slow down, little dude. You're gonna end up peeing in your diaper in the next half hour," the peds surgeon teasingly warned him, politely taking the sippy cup away from him. He shook the empty cup and shook his head. "You finished it all? Man, you're just like your father. He and I were practically garbage disposals, ate anything and everything in sight."

There was one moment that would forever make him laugh. He and Jackson ordered four large pepperoni pizzas, each of them having two. One boring off day, they decided to compete in a harmless eating competition to see who could out eat the other. Mark was their referee, while some of their coworkers who weren't working came over to the Avery residence to watch the two macho men stuff their mouths with pizza. It didn't particularly end well for either of them. Both of them cleared out one box, but when they reached the second round the plastic surgeon made a mad dash for the bathroom, while Alex only made it to the kitchen sink. April was not a happy woman when she arrived home from work.

Looking back at that memory, Alex realized how much he missed his best friend. Jackson was like a brother to him. They attended sporting events together, got drunk together and occasionally had their spats over random topics. His current life was partly bittersweet. Being with April made for an awkward triangle, despite the fact that one piece of it was no longer alive. He was happy, though, and he knew his buddy would want him to be this way.

Arizona entered the room, furrowing her eyebrows at the sight of Logan. "You paged, Karev?"

She brightly grinned at the toddler, who smiled back and blurted out an adorable, "Hi!"

"Uhh, yeah. I need a favor," Alex requested, briefly pointing at the pretty eyed kid. "Can you pinch him, please?"

"Excuse me?" the blonde attending questioned, raising her eyebrow at him. "And why exactly do you want me to provoke harm on this adorable little boy?"

He rolled his eyes as Arizona playfully tickled Logan's tummy making him laugh. "He climbed out of his crib this morning, so I'm concerned or whatever. A kid his age shouldn't be climbing out of cribs and banging on my door like it was no big deal."

"Really? He climbed out and wasn't hurt or anything?"

"Nope. Not a bruise on him, but a fall from a crib should be like falling off the roof of a one-story house for an adult," Alex insisted, scratching the back of his head. "I asked you to pinch him because I want to make sure he can feel pain. What if he has CIPA? You know what that is, right?"

"Yes, I'm aware of CIPA and I doubt he has that," she casually replied. "And I'm not going to pinch him just so he can cry because that would be very mean and you really shouldn't be asking your friends to inflict pain on tiny humans. Oh, and don't ask one of the kids in daycare to do it because that's just setting a bad example for them."

"Fine. I'll ask one of the dumb interns to do it," he retorted.

Arizona dismissively waved her hand. "You are not going to ask anybody to pinch Logan, Karev," she scolded him. "Plus, you have a pregnant fiancée roaming the halls and how do you think she'll react when she finds out some random coworker pinched her son and made him cry? And she's carrying _your_ tiny human in that belly, so you'll be in trouble too."

Alex sighed in frustration. "I've dealt with CIPA before and we only eventually figured out the girl had it after she freaking had her hand in ice water without feeling any pain. C'mon, what if something more serious happens to Logan? Like, he falls down the stairs and doesn't react until he's coding?"

She smiled at her former student. "Relax for a minute. You know what you're doing right now? You're being a _parent_. A very overly concerned but natural parent," the Head of Peds pointed out. "And that's okay. Instead of overanalyzing the situation like crazy, remember what we always check first during an exam – medical history. So tell me, has Logan ever cried when he had a fever or bumped into something?"

"Umm…" He felt like an idiot for not being able to recall any past incidents when Logan cried. Then again, he was a tough baby, but that wasn't helpful at the moment. "I don't know. I haven't been with him 24/7 since he was born. April would know this better than I do, but I don't want to ask her because she'll freaking panic after I assured her he was fine."

"Well, I'm not going to pinch him nor will I run a biopsy for a test he likely doesn't need, so either talk to April yourself or I will," she declared. "By the way, since you'll be in Iowa next weekend for Amber's graduation I already contacted Dr. Reynolds about substituting for you for the monthly visit to Stanford."

"Oh, crap!" Alex yelped, slapping his forehead. He had completely forgotten about attending Amber's college graduation. With work, future stepchildren and a pregnant fiancée to worry about, his sister's biggest achievement to date had slipped his mind. He promised her he would make it, but he also hadn't booked himself a flight yet. "Dude, I forgot about Amber."

Arizona smirked at him in response. "How do you forget your sister's college graduation?"

"I've got a lot on my plate, alright? It was one brain fart. Everybody has them."

"But she's your _sister_."

"Maybe… maybe I can tell her something came up and I can't make it. She'll understand," he insisted. "And she's moving to Seattle shortly after, so I'll see her every day."

"No, Alex. You cannot miss her graduation. She's expecting you to be there and I'm sure April will force you to go. Besides, how often do you go home?"

Alex slightly pouted. Truthfully, he hadn't gone home in almost nine years. Too much of his dark past existed there and he preferred not to be reminded of it. "Never," he muttered, gazing down at his shoes. "I haven't been home since I had to commit Aaron after he attacked Amber. That was about eight and a half years ago."

"I understand you don't want to face your past demons, but they will continue to haunt you if you refuse to confront them. You're going home to Iowa, got it? Go home or you're fired," she threatened him.

"What? You can't do that," he argued.

"I'm your boss, so yeah. I can," she cheerfully replied. "Now, drop Logan off at daycare, change into your scrubs and talk to April before my perkiness wears off."

He picked up Logan from the table and scowled at Arizona as he walked by. "You're lucky I like you."

Arizona grinned as she followed him out of the room. "You love me because I'm awesome and I'm right," she gloated.

* * *

The ER was about half-full with patients, most of them only needing minor treatment for their injuries, which was fine with April because anything major like a car accident would likely bring back terrible memories from a year ago. She put her trust and faith in the residents assigned to her that week, one of them being Alice. Her youngest sister hadn't done a lot of rotations in the pit because she almost always ended up in neuro with Derek or Lexie. The trauma surgeon specifically requested the young resident on her service as a way to spend so-called quality time together.

Alice still remained distant towards April for whatever reason. She couldn't quite figure it out because she originally thought her sister lashed out at her due to her problems with Shane. However, she occasionally gave the redhead attitude whenever they encountered each other at the hospital. Whatever it was, she wanted the tension between them to end.

"Bed four's free now. You know, after all of the vomit was cleaned up and one of the nurses changed the bed sheets," the first year resident unenthusiastically said as she approached April at the nurses' station. She was already having neuro withdrawals and it wasn't even noon yet. "When can I cut someone open today?"

"When a major trauma comes in, but you won't be doing much cutting," April responded while she wrote notes in a patient's chart. "Running the ER isn't as easy as it looks. You're calm now, but if some catastrophe were to happen right now, this place would be full of commotion."

"Yes, I'm aware," she answered, rolling her eyes. "What are you doing here anyway? Did you forget what today is?"

"No, I didn't forget," her older sister murmured. "And I'm here today because it's my job. I don't care what Hunt told me to do. Banks is on leave to help Jo take care of their new son, so I'm fully in charge. Isn't Shane's oral boards today? Did you wish him good luck?"

Alice let out an annoyed sigh. "I shot him a text and he won't need it. He's been studying since September. He'll pass, then he'll brag even more about his Mass Gen offer. Big whoop," she whined, folding her arms. "Did you visit Jackson at the cemetery?"

"Not yet. We'll visit him later in the afternoon before the party at Webber's," April replied as she handed her patient's chart to a nurse. "It's going to be weird visiting him today. I know I visit every month, but it's definitely harder on this particular day for obvious reasons."

"Umm, yeah. You're bringing along a kid that isn't his to his grave. I'd be weirded out too," she scoffed.

April caught Alice off-guard when the elder Kepner grabbed her arm and forcefully pulled her into an empty trauma room, shutting the door behind her. "Do you have a problem with me? If you do, then tell me now because I'm tired of your snooty attitude towards me," she sternly stated. "And it doesn't matter that I'm your sister. I'm still your boss in this hospital, so half-assing in the ER is _not_ going to earn you a place in the OR. I get it. Trauma doesn't excite you as much as neuro, but there's no reason to be disrespectful to me. And you're just a first year, so quit acting like neurosurgery's your life because there's a good chance your specialty will be different by the time you finish residency. Also, if you think this day isn't hard for me, you're wrong. It's incredibly difficult and your smart ass comments aren't helping."

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm going through a ton of stress, in case you haven't noticed."

"Wow, I wouldn't have figured that out," the redhead sarcastically said. "Well, I'm free at the moment, so talk to me like you used to. I'm not sure why you stopped doing that in the first place."

"You've got a bunch of things going on. I thought you'd be too busy to care about my problems," Alice shamefully muttered.

April softly chuckled, pointing at herself. "Do you _know_ who you're talking to? Of course I care about your problems. That hasn't changed," she assured her sister. "How can you think I'm too busy for you? I'm never too busy for you. Is that why you haven't been as open with me?"

Alice gestured her hand towards April's baby bump. "You're pregnant and I didn't want to catch you on a bad hormonal day. And you have the boys to take care of, the ER to run-"

"It doesn't matter. You're family, so you're my priority," she insisted, placing her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Tomorrow, we can do lunch. Just the two of us and you can tell me everything that's on your mind, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed, bashfully nodding her head. "And I'm really sorry for being such a bitch to you lately. I was being a little selfish."

"It's fine." April gladly embraced Alice with a hug. "Anyway, I think it's time you learn the ropes of running an ER. Consider this my version of boot camp. Just because you're sorry it doesn't mean you're completely off the hook."

Alice sighed, smiling as they walked out of the trauma room. "I figured."

Waiting for them nearby was Alex, who quickly approached April. "Hey, can I borrow you for a minute?"

"Sure. What's up?" his fiancée inquired as they moved to a more secluded area.

"This may sound pretty random, but uhh… when was the last time Logan cried? I mean, like after bumping into crap? And uhh, when was the last time he was sick with a fever or something else?" he awkwardly asked.

"Why? Is he not feeling well?" April replied with her own question. "He hasn't been sick for a while. I think he had a fever in February. It was an overnight thing, but it was enough to bother him. Oh, and didn't he bump his head against the coffee table two weeks ago? You'd think he got shot by how loudly he cried."

Alex let out a sigh of relief. He suddenly remembered an incident a couple of weeks ago when Logan was retrieving a toy from underneath the coffee table, and being the klutz he is, he hit the back of his head and tears came out immediately. Arizona was right. He was just being one of those overprotective parents.

He hugged the trauma surgeon, kissing her forehead. "Yeah, he's fine. I… I was just curious," he unconvincingly said, drawing a puzzled glance from April. It was time to change the subject. "I forgot Amber's graduation is next weekend."

April gasped. "Alex! You at least have a flight booked, right?" She groaned when he innocently shrugged. "You can't miss her graduation. This is a big deal for her – and for _you_. You're the only immediate family she has. How awful do you think she'll feel if nobody in her family attended her graduation?"

"Alright, you've got the guilt trip working," he irritably replied. "I'm going, okay? But… do you want to come home with me? You don't have to. I know flying now is a little iffy, so if you don't want to-"

"Yes, I'll go!" she chirped, not having thought twice about that. After assuming he would never bring her home to Iowa, his offer was a lovely surprise. She knew she needed to jump on it. The opportunity to visit his home state might not happen again. "Catherine can watch the boys. It's no problem at all. And don't worry about me. I will be fine."

Alex half-smiled at her. "Alright then. I should try to find available flights later. I'll fork up a bunch of money for first class if those are the only seats left," he promised, kissing her lips afterwards. "So, four o'clock, right? To visit Jackson?"

She slowly nodded. "Yep. Four o'clock."

* * *

Standing behind April and the boys, Alex bounced back and forth on his heels as they talked to Jackson's headstone. He had always felt uncomfortable trying to have a conversation with a dead guy, so he let them do most of the talking. Jordan rambled about playing t-ball again in the upcoming summer, Cameron showed off his electric blue cast and Logan occasionally gazed up at the airplanes flying above them.

April tried her best to keep it together. She didn't want to cry in front of their sons, so she told Jackson about all of the adorable moments she could remember about the boys since her last visit. As awkward as it felt to mention a baby that wasn't his, she gave a quick update on Baby Girl Karev.

After having another conversation with Charles and Reed, she looked back at Alex, who seemed ready to leave the cemetery. "Did you want to say anything to Jackson?"

He scrunched his nose, then he shrugged his shoulders. "Uhh, sure." The peds surgeon walked closer to Jackson's headstone. He opened his mouth, but he couldn't find the words to speak. "Actually, can I do this alone? I'd rather do this by myself, if you don't mind."

"Hmm… okay," she reluctantly answered. "Boys, say your goodbyes to Daddy. We'll wait for Alex in the car."

Jordan waved as he walked away with April. "Bye, Daddy! Don't eat too much candy in heaven. You'll get a tummy ache," he reminded him, making April chuckle.

Alex waited until the foursome were long gone before he started talking. "Uhh… hey, Avery. How ya doin' in there?" He shook his head, feeling stupider by the second. "I'm not good at this, so you can listen if you want or you can completely ignore me. Whatever. I don't normally talk to dead people, okay? Actually, I don't think I ever have."

He stuffed his hands inside of his jacket pockets. It was eerily quiet in the cemetery. Now he wished Logan stuck around, so his babbling wouldn't make the mood feel so morbid. He wasn't a fan of cemeteries or anything related to death. There was that whole cancer ordeal with Izzie. Death almost came for him during the hospital shooting, but fortunately, it wasn't his time yet. People at the hospital died all of the time. Still, he hated having to associate himself with it, especially when it involved family or friends.

"You don't have to worry about how April and the boys are doing. I've been taking care of them. I'm not trying to replace you or anything. That would be a daunting task. I can't pull off the pretty boy crap," he quipped, quietly laughing to himself. "And I'm sure the engagement ring I bought her isn't anywhere near as good as the one you gave her. She seems to like it, though."

"You'd be cool with the boys calling me Dad too, right?" he continued and slightly frowned. "I mean, one kid's gonna call me that eventually, so I thought maybe they could do the same since I'll be their stepfather. You'll always be their father, I know that. Logan's been calling me Dada for months now, but I swear, I didn't teach him that. He kind of just freaking did it, you know? So don't be pissed about that."

Scanning his surroundings, he grew paranoid about someone close by overhearing him. Maybe it was George O'Malley, he thought. Somewhere in the cemetery, his deceased friend was buried. His ghost manifesting in front of him would be the perfect revenge for all of the crap he gave him. He would certainly soil his pants if that were to happen.

"Dude, you won't suddenly appear to me at night and kick my ass, right? Because uhh, that wouldn't be cool," Alex nervously said. "I miss you, man, but that doesn't mean you should pop out of nowhere. Truce?"

He lightly kicked at the grass in front of him, feeling embarrassed for offering a truce with a person who probably wasn't listening to him. A brighter subject was appropriate now. "I don't now squat about raising a daughter. April at least knows a thing or two because she has three freaking sisters. I wasn't around much when Amber was really young. This whole fatherhood thing hadn't really hit me until Cam broke his arm, which by the way, was an accident," he added. "Don't haunt me for that either."

"I know we didn't hit it off in the beginning, but you seriously were my best friend. I didn't have best friends growing up in Iowa. I was used to being the guy people were scared of because I was closed off and pretty much an asshole. Even in college, I wasn't that close to my wrestling buddies," Alex recalled. "So, thanks for being that guy friend I needed. I guess I'll go now. You know the boys aren't the most patient people in the world."

The peds surgeon sighed as he turned to walk away. He took one last glimpse of Jackson's name on the headstone. "See ya, dude," he said, sadly smiling before he returned to the car.

Later that evening, they arrived at Webber's house for a small gathering in memory of the plastic surgeon. Most of their coworkers were in attendance, as well as his two sisters and both Harper Avery's. The mood was upbeat. Catherine wanted everybody to celebrate her baby boy's life rather than mourn it all over again. That was what the funeral was for.

Samantha eyed the new diamond ring on April's left finger. "You and Alex are engaged now?" she politely inquired.

"Yes," she answered, smiling down at her engagement ring. "It just happened last month."

"I see." April fully expected the cardio surgeon to respond with a typically snarky remark. Instead, she surprised her with a non-sarcastic, "Congratulations to you both."

"Thank you," the trauma surgeon acknowledged, even accepting a hug from her sister-in-law. "And also, I'm glad you came for Jackson. I bet he's really proud of you for being here, both you and Joslyn. It's not often I see you two together in one place."

The eldest Avery daughter nodded and smiled. "I haven't seen her in almost a year. We're just so busy and living in opposite ends of the country, but I'm going to make an effort in visiting her more," she noted. "She's my only sibling left after all. Can't take her for granted like I did with Jackson."

"That's great. I'm sure Catherine is delighted about that."

"She's already planning vacations for all of us. She's even looking at Disney World because we were deprived of that when we were children. Maybe when that little girl you're carrying is finally here you guys can tag along. The boys haven't been there yet, yes?"

April shook her head and smiled. "Nope. Actually, I haven't been either. I doubt Alex has gone, so it would be fun."

Mark gently tapped a fork against his wine glass and waited for the living room to settle down. "Everybody, we're here today to honor a great man. Jackson was a loving father, husband, brother, son, an amazing surgeon, a good friend. He was a lot of things. It feels almost unreal that a entire year has passed since he was taken away from us, but he will never be forgotten." He raised his wine glass. "We miss ya, buddy."

After his toast, Catherine waved at April. "How about some words from you, dear?"

She had already fought back tears during Mark's speech about Jackson, but she didn't have much of a choice. Walking towards the center of the living room, April cleared her throat and softly smiled at her peers. "Well, it would be extremely rude of me if I didn't say something tonight. Umm… first of all, thank you for taking the time to be here. Every person in this room had some sort of connection to Jackson. Personally, it's been a very interesting year. It wasn't always smooth sailing for me, but your love and support really helped me pull through."

"I consider myself to be blessed with caring friends and family," she continued. "So much that some of you surprised me with how supportive you were."

Alex smiled at her from across the room when they made eye contact. She surprised him just as much.

"Even though Jackson isn't here anymore, I know he would want me to be happy – and I am. His spirit will continue to live on in our three beautiful sons and I'm confident they will all grow up to be gentlemen just like their father. And while I've started a new chapter in my life without him, I'm always going to love him because we've been through too much for me to forget him. Jackson will always have a special place in my heart."

* * *

Jackson's death anniversary came and went. It wasn't as dreadful as April had expected. All of his friends and family members had something to share about him. There were many tears, but a ton of laughter with most stories revolving around the shenanigans he and the other former residents had gotten into during their residency.

The following weekend, she and Alex were in Iowa for Amber's college graduation. He felt slightly apprehensive about showing her around his home state because he wasn't exactly sure what to show her. The day before graduation, he decided to show her the wrestling grounds of the university. Carver-Hawkeye Arena had a small room that showcased their wrestling team's history and the numerous national titles they had won. April spotted an old photograph of him wrestling and forced him to take a picture beside his college kid self, to his dismay.

She raved about his accomplishments during his college wrestling days. All-Conference Team, All-Regional Team, Big Ten Wrestler of the Year during his senior year, All-NCAA Championship Team… the list went on and on. Turned out he left a legacy at Iowa and she had no idea. His stories to Baby Girl Karev hadn't included all of the awards he had won for his wrestling skills.

And by chance, Alex ran into his college coach, whom Cameron was named after. April was surprised to learn about this fact. Jackson hadn't told her where exactly the name came from other than the peds surgeon suggesting it. That just made her love him even more.

Amber was thrilled to have both her brother and April in town for her graduation. Alex hadn't realized how intelligent she was until he found out she graduated summa cum laude. She took care of herself after all the years of not having him around. His kid sister grew up to be a responsible adult. He was pretty damn proud of her, even standing up in the crowd when she received her diploma at the Nursing ceremony.

Three weeks later, she moved to Seattle. Alex turned the study downstairs into a temporary bedroom until her apartment was ready. April offered to help her study for her exam to become a registered nurse. Plus, they were thankful to have extra help around the house. They needed another set of legs to chase the boys around since April wasn't in the best physical shape to do so anymore.

It was a Sunday morning, a very important one at that. Amber quietly snuck into Alex's bedroom where he slept in his bed with the occasional light snore every now and then. He was alone as April was already awake and downstairs with the boys. Picking up one of the pillows, the younger Karev smacked her brother as hard as she could with it.

"Wake up, loser!" she teased, laughing at the profanities he mumbled as he woke up.

"What the hell…" he groaned, slowly sitting up on his bed. Alex rubbed his eyes and opened them to see Amber mischievously grinning back at him. "Dude, just because you temporarily live here it doesn't mean you can freaking wake me up in the most obnoxious way possible."

"Oh, whatever. Obnoxious would be me jumping on you," she scoffed. "What I did was much nicer. Anyway, get your ass out of bed and come downstairs. Breakfast is ready and I'll eat your share if you don't hurry up."

Alex lazily waved his hand. "Yeah, yeah. Go away. I'll be down in a minute."

Climbing out of bed, he dragged himself into the bathroom. He threw some water at his face to wake up even more and did his other morning routines before going downstairs. Pushing the kitchen door open, he stopped in the doorway when he realized why Amber was rushing him.

"Happy Father's Day!" April excitedly greeted her fiancé.

Alex noticed a few presents waiting for him on the dining table, along with his breakfast. Blueberry pancakes, bacon and eggs were on a plate. And there was extra bacon. She knew him too well. "Dude," he happily said, walking towards the table with a smile on his face. "Seriously?"

"Of course! You're already a father to me," she assured him. "And the boys have cards for you."

Jordan hopped out of his chair and ran around the table. "Read mine first! Mine's got glitter," he gloated, holding up his handmade card in front of Alex. "And I helped Mommy make breakfast."

"Awesome. Thank you." He took the card from Jordan and sat down in his seat. "Did you make this all by yourself?"

"Uh huh! Do you like it?" the 6-year old eagerly asked.

Alex opened the card, reading what Jordan wrote inside. He wasn't Uncle Alex anymore. Instead, the eldest Avery boy had written "Dear Daddy #2", which made him laugh, but it also made him feel appreciated. Whether or not April suggested the name change, he enjoyed the fact that the boys were starting to look at him like a father.

Father's Day the previous year was purposely ignored because it was too painful for April, but now, they had a reason to celebrate it. Alex could officially call himself a father too.

* * *

**I'm thinking 3-4 chapters are left for this fic. There will be a time jump, so Baby Girl Karev will be coming in the next chapter :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Well, folks... we're almost at the end of this one! Only two more chapters left for this fic :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

July came and passed. Logan was another year older, which April found hard to believe. When Jackson died he was barely a year old. Now, he was two years old and quite the talker like his mother. He could almost form short complete sentences when he spoke. And prior to his second birthday, he had given April and Alex a few more scares by climbing out of his crib multiple times.

They decided to buy him a bed – one that was low and close to the floor and with removable railings – after he turned two. It was a good idea until they faced another problem. He loved jumping on his bed, especially when it was past his bedtime. Jordan and Cameron were easy toddlers at his age. Unfortunately, Logan appeared to be the lucky child who was going through the Terrible Twos phase. He was definitely testing April and Alex's patience. On the other hand, he hadn't been torturing them with tantrums. He was just a really hyper kid.

For April, she wanted to ignore his behavior altogether because she was three weeks away from her due date. Addison had recommended to the trauma surgeon to stay in bed. She had been experiencing high blood pressure, so anything to keep her relaxed was necessary. Karen had flown in from Ohio for Logan's birthday and decided to reside in Seattle until her new granddaughter was born. She was staying with Alice, but she stopped by the house to keep April company, while Alex worked at the hospital.

"Are you sure you don't want me helping you downstairs before I leave?" Alex asked while he propped up April's feet with a few pillows. His other half sat up in bed in her pajamas feeling lazier as each day passed. She loved her job and being a mother, but all of the relaxation was spoiling her, especially with the way her fiancé waited on her hand and foot voluntarily.

"I'm not paralyzed, Alex. I can walk," she playfully retorted. Since going on leave from work Alex had been overly cautious about every movement she made. It was amusing and irritating at the same time. "My mom will be here in an hour, so just leave the spare key under the doormat."

"You know what?" The peds surgeon climbed onto the bed, taking a seat beside April. "I'll wait until she arrives. Robbins won't mind. Unless a major catastrophe occurs any minute now, I don't have to leave for the hospital yet."

She rested her head on his shoulder and smiled. Her third trimester hadn't been easy. Most of their mornings consisted of her being cranky because she couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep in, so she fully expected Alex to be eager to flee the house any chance he got.

"Are the boys still asleep?" April checked the time on the alarm clock. It was only half past six in the morning and the house was surprisingly quiet. School hadn't started yet for Jordan and Cameron, so there was no reason to wake them up early. "I don't hear anything."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and placed his other hand on her large baby bump. "I never thought silence would be my favorite sound," he quipped.

"Enjoy it while it lasts because we'll be missing it dearly when our baby girl is here," she reminded him, staring at his hand as he gently rubbed her belly.

"So, uhh… got any names in mind?"

April shook her head. "You?" He responded with the same gesture. "Well, do you think it would be cheesy if she had a name that started with the letter 'A'? I personally find it adorable."

Alex quickly shrugged. "Whatever. As long as her name isn't Ava… or after some chick I slept with back in the day."

"Umm… how many women whose names started with the letter 'A' did you sleep with?" she curiously questioned, not that she was dying to know. He had likely slept with twenty times the number of partners than she had.

Her total: 2

"How about you give me names and I'll tell you if they're worthy or not?" he suggested. As uncomfortable as it was for the both of them, naming his first and only daughter was important. She deserved to have a name that wasn't linked to any of his one night stands. "Any name that pops up in your head."

"Okay." She took a few seconds to come up with a name that she personally liked. "Alyssa."

Alex cringed and immediately shook his head. "No. She was a college hook up who puked on me at a frat party. Next."

"Amanda?"

"Screwed at least five of the same name."

"Ashley?"

"Name of the nurse I lost my virginity to when I was fifteen," he replied and chuckled. Alex cleared his throat when April glared at him. "C'mon, I highly doubt I slept with the entire freaking book of 'A' names. Something we both approve of will come up."

Adrian, Anya, Arielle, Aubrey, Alicia, Angelica, Anastasia – he either slept with them or he simply disliked the name. April even threw in the name August just to get a different reaction from him, but she definitely wasn't going to name their child after the month she was born in. He wouldn't allow that to happen either.

"That was a fail," she grumbled, slightly frowning at her belly. "Don't worry, baby. You won't go nameless by the time you arrive."

"Does she really have to be given an 'A' name? It's kind of played out or whatever. I've got the 'A' name and so do Aaron and Amber. You also have it. Alice too, so why not mix it up?"

"Because regardless of what letter I choose, I fear you slept with a woman who has a name I want," she muttered. "Maybe going with another 'A' name is a safer choice."

Alex smiled at the sound of little footsteps stomping closer to their bedroom. "Logan's awake," he announced. Within a few seconds, the 2-year old's tiny head peeked inside, his cheerful grin greeting them. "Good morning, dude!"

"Morn-in, duuude!"

His reply made both April and Alex laugh. He was beginning to consistently imitate the words that came out of their mouths, which was a good and bad thing. The peds surgeon had to be careful about cursing in front of him. He already had to limit using the word freaking because Logan's pronunciation of it wasn't as cute since he always left out the 'R' and it sounded more like "ficking", which was close enough to another F-word that was banned in the house.

Logan ran into the bedroom, reaching up as he tried to climb up the bed. Alex gave him a much needed boost by picking him up from the floor. He flipped him upside down, eliciting squeaky giggles from the giddy boy. "I wish I had your energy in the morning," he acknowledged before sitting him on his lap.

"Logan, where's your baby sister?" April asked in a high-pitched tone. She squealed with excitement after her son pointed at her belly. "You understand! Can you say baby?"

"Bab-ee."

"Bay-bee," she tried to correct him.

"Bab-ee!"

A light bulb lit up in April's head. Logan's mispronunciation of baby gave her another name idea. "I got it, Alex!" she gasped. "Please don't tell me you slept with anybody named Abigail because I think Abby's a cute name for our daughter."

Alex nodded his head in approval. "If I slept with one, I don't remember. Abby it is," he agreed, gently patting his fiancée's baby bump. "She's Abigail – some cool middle name – Karev. See? I knew we'd find a name sooner than later."

"You weren't much of a help until just now," she teased. Pinching Logan's cheek, she grinned back at her baby boy. "Thank you for somewhat naming your sister. Are you hungry? Do you want Cheerios for breakfast?"

"Chee-rohs!" Logan chirped.

"Alright. Let's change your stinky diaper first and check on your brothers before we go downstairs for breakfast." Alex scooted off of the bed, holding Logan in one arm. He walked around the bed to April's side and held him in front of her. "Give your mom a kiss first."

Logan puckered up and pecked April on the lips. "And where's my other kiss?" she inquired, batting her eyelashes at Alex.

He leaned forward, giving her a soft kiss. "You want me to bring you something to eat? Maybe some orange juice at least? Abby's clearly a Karev because she makes you eat like a lumberjack, so don't pretend you're not hungry right now."

"Don't worry about me. I'll take care of my breakfast later," she dismissively said and smiled, admiring how thoughtful Alex had become as her pregnancy progressed. Sometimes she couldn't believe this was the same person who once yelled at her in an on-call room when she wanted him to slow down during their failed sex attempt. "But thank you for being so wonderful."

"I've always been wonderful. That hasn't changed," he gloated, snickering as she rolled her eyes at him. Carrying Logan out of the bedroom, he briefly looked over his shoulder at her. "Love you."

"Love you too." April gazed down at her belly. Little Abigail was actively kicking, making the redhead giggle. "You're happy you have a name, huh? Well, you weren't gonna go nameless if that's what you were thinking. And you know what? You've got three older brothers to protect you. Logan's already doing that by giving you a name that has nothing to do with your daddy's one night stands. Okay, he didn't _exactly_ name you, but he gave me the idea, so he deserves credit too."

Lightly tapping her fingers against her belly, she sighed. "Are you ready to come out? Because technically, you've reached full term, so if you want to come out this week, I'm completely okay with that – just don't give me a hard time. After three- well, two labors in which I endured long hours of contractions, the least you could do is cooperate with me and pop out as quickly and smoothly as possible. But you're a Karev, so maybe I'm being too hopeful."

* * *

Heading towards the finish line of the pregnancy, Alex had been growing more and more apprehensive as April's due date approached. Three weeks felt both far away and too close for comfort. They had opted out of childbirth classes because she already had three children to practice with. Although Abigail was his first biological kid, he thought he was ready to take care of her, but there were days when he psyched himself out and convinced himself he would be terrible with a baby girl. All he knew how to care for were boys.

And he felt uneasy being at the hospital, while she stayed at home with the kids. Despite the fact that Karen was helping her watch them, he had grown paranoid about her suddenly going into labor and being forced to deliver their daughter in the bath tub. He spent more time checking his cell phone and his pager than anything else.

Meredith and Cristina carried their trays to Alex's table in the cafeteria. Claiming their seats, both women noticed his cell phone and pager neatly lined up above his tray, so he could check them easily. What surprised them more was the book in his hand, _So You're Going To Be A Dad_. The old Karev would have been caught dead reading that.

"What do you need that book for? I thought you have the parenting gig down," Cristina asked with a smirk.

"I'm just trying to make sure I know everything I'm supposed to know," Alex stated, using his free hand to pick up his sandwich. "And the only newborn I spent any real quality time with was Jordan, but he was in the NICU for the most part. This will be different. I actually have to take this one home."

"You'll be fine. You and April will be each other's support system," Meredith assured her friend and smiled. She watched him eye his cell phone for any new notifications. "And you'll know when the baby's coming. Don't worry so much."

Cristina nodded with a mouthful of salad. "Plus, how long could it take for the baby to come out? I mean, she experienced vaginal birth twice, right? By now, the baby should just slide out. She'll be like a rocket launcher and Addison will have to catch your kid like a football," she quipped.

Meredith and Alex chuckled. "I wish," the peds surgeon murmured. "Who knows how long April will be in labor for? Abby's a Karev. She'll probably be stubborn and refuse to leave her water bed for the outside world."

"You're naming her Abby?" Meredith questioned. "Abby Karev has a nice ring to it. Pick a middle name yet?"

"No. We only came up with her name this morning after Logan couldn't say the word baby correctly, but I like it. I never slept with an Abby, so April loves the name," he replied with a shrug. "I have no freaking clue what her middle name should be. Does she really need one? I mean, tradition doesn't always have to be enforced."

"This is April we're talking about. She'll want her to have a middle name," Cristina pointed out. "Why not umm, what's her name? Her friend who got shot. Was it Reed?"

Alex slightly grimaced and scrunched his nose. Partially naming their child after April's deceased best friend would be touching, but Reed also reminded him of the shooting. He was in the supply closet right after Gary Clark had shot her in the head and killed her and seconds before he shot him as well. Then again, his fiancée visited her grave every month, so she hadn't been forgotten since the tragic event.

Abigail Reed Karev didn't sound too weird in his mind. He decided to send a text message to April about the name idea. It also gave him an excuse to check on her. He waited for about two minutes before he received a response from her.

_YES, YES AND YES!_

"In a predictable turn of events, April is cool with Reed as the middle name," he told his friends amusingly. Alex set his cell phone on the table and resumed eating his lunch. "It's a good thing I didn't sleep with her."

"You thought about it, though," Meredith recalled. She remembered Reed offering Alex sex for surgeries. At the time, he was still married to Izzie and of course, her loyalties were with her friends. She hardly knew the former Mercy Wester, but she did feel awful for April when she learned she had died during the shooting. "I knocked sense into you."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. Like I was really gonna screw her just so we could trade surgeries. I was messing with her head," he scoffed. "Anyway, she wasn't so bad. She was kind of cool when she wasn't trying flirt with me or whatever. For a split second, I saw her dead body. Then, that asshole shot me. She very well might have been his first victim."

"If it weren't for April, more of us may have been killed – like Derek," the general surgeon added.

"She was annoying in the beginning, but you know, I consider her one of us," Cristina admitted. "As goofy as this sounds, I think she and George might have hit it off. They're both awkward and dopey. It would've been fun teasing those two together."

Meredith giggled. "Oh, George would have totally asked her out." She looked at Alex, who had a disgusted expression on his face. "Lighten up, Alex. You know you would've given both of them crap if they dated, especially with the whole syphilis thing."

"Dude, they wouldn't have lasted. Besides, George would've been in the freaking Middle East with the army. What if by the time he came back, she and Avery were together? It wouldn't matter," Alex replied irritably.

He wasn't sure why he had gotten so defensive about the idea of April and George. Maybe it was because he knew O'Malley would've treated her better than he ever did from the start. Or he simply didn't want to envision her with anybody else. Then again, he would've still been married to Izzie… maybe. If she hadn't gotten fired, of course.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda. What was the point of reflecting on things that couldn't happen?

His cell phone vibrated forcing him to drop what he was doing and check his latest text message. It wasn't April. Just some idiot intern asking him one of the world's stupidest questions, at least by his standards.

"Why don't any of the interns I get know how to start a central line? Didn't we learn this crap in medical school?" Alex complained while he responded to the message. "And I'm on my lunch break. I'm not wasting my time teaching this moron how to start a central line when April could go into labor any minute now."

"I thought she isn't due for another three weeks," Meredith answered, raising her eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, but babies can come out whenever they want. I don't want to be stuck in the OR with an open kid on my table, then I get a page that April's in the hospital because she's in labor. Maybe I should ask Hunt to let me go on leave now, so I can be with her when it's time to have the baby."

Cristina dismissively waved her hand. "You're worrying too much. You know what you should really worry about? Passing out when she starts crowning," she insinuated. "I know you've had your share of doing stints with the Vagina Squad when we were interns, but that's the least attractive thing you want to see from April. Oh, and the poop. The miracle of life is supposedly beautiful and all that jazz, but there's nothing beautiful about seeing your partner's feces."

Meredith slapped the cardio surgeon's arm and glared at her. "We're eating here," she chided. "And anyway, the last thing anybody will be paying attention to is _that_. Don't freak out Alex."

"I'm not going to freak out," Alex coolly replied. His two friends stared back at him skeptically. "Dude, I'm not. I grew up in a messed up home and suffered through a ton of hard crap. April giving birth to my kid won't be a problem at all."

* * *

Another week passed and nothing unexpected had happened – until a typical overnight trip to the bathroom. It was around 4 AM when Alex woke up to April nudging his shoulder. He rolled over onto his back, blinking his eyes as he tried to adjust to the darkness of the bedroom. Light was shining from their bathroom and she appeared to be anxious based on the way she bit down on her lower lip.

"My water broke," she calmly announced, resting her palms against her belly.

"It broke?" he drowsily asked, slowly sitting up on the edge of their bed. "Are you sure?"

"Let's see, I went to the bathroom to pee and I'm a thousand percent sure it doesn't just gush out like a waterfall. I've gone through the childbirth thing before, so yeah – my water broke," the trauma surgeon confidently assured him. "I'm going to call my mother, so she and Alice can come over to watch the boys. Can you call Addison and tell her we're on our way to the hospital, please?"

Alex mumbled inaudible words as he pushed himself up from the bed. He moved at a sloth pace, fumbling with his cell phone until he found Addison's number in his contacts list. By the time he reached the OB, April was already changing out of her pajamas after calling Karen. She had packed a small gym bag ahead of time and was prepared to leave as soon as her family members arrived.

Stumbling out of the bathroom, Alex still hadn't fully woken up from his sleep. "Contractions start yet?"

"No, but can you speed it up a little? I know we can't leave until my mom and Alice are here, but I'd like for us to be able to bolt for the hospital as soon as they arrive in the driveway," she ordered impatiently. April watched him trip over her bag and fall face first into their closet. She covered her face with her hand as she shook her head. "Alex, I'm about to have your baby. News like this should make you excited or… panicked. You're acting like I'm forcing you to attend Sunday mass with me!"

"Freakin' A," he groaned as he stood up, rubbing his cheek. Maybe if he hadn't been on three hours of sleep after a late night at work, he would have been more enthusiastic about little Abby arriving soon. "I'm moving, I'm moving."

After leaving the children with Karen and Alice, Alex drove April to Seattle Grace Mercy West. By then, her contractions had started, about fifteen minutes apart. While a nurse helped her settle into her private room, he called Amber and asked her to meet them at the hospital. Her apartment was only ten minutes away and he would have felt like a total ass if his sister wasn't around for the birth of her niece.

She met him in the hallway outside of April's room with two cups of coffee. Handing one to her brother, Amber snuck a peek inside of the redhead's room. "How is she?"

"Contractions haven't been too bad, but she'll be a bitch in an hour or two," he jokingly said, sharing a laugh with the younger Karev. "I know I shouldn't be saying that, though let's be real here. All women going through labor unleash the bitch in them. I mean, I don't blame them. A freaking baby's coming out of their vagina. Thank God I'm a guy."

"So are you nervous yet? Do you feel like you're gonna spew chunks when you see all of the blood and placenta spill out of her?" Amber grinned as he scowled at her. She playfully shoved his shoulder. "Oh, don't be a sourpuss. This is a happy milestone. You're about to have a little girl, who I know will be the most adorable Karev since I was born."

Alex softly chuckled as he sipped his coffee. "Of course I'm happy. I have a family. Never thought that would happen to me." He suddenly frowned when a disturbing thought arose in his head. "What do you think the odds are of Abby becoming schizophrenic? Since Mom and Aaron are there's still a small chance she could end up that way too, right?"

"Look, I know that's a scary thing to think about because of our family history, but you turned out fine. The odds are pretty low and if she does turn out schizophrenic, that shouldn't change how you feel about her. Aaron tried to kill me, but that doesn't mean I hate him. He was sick, so I can't hate him for that. Just like I can't hate Mom for turning out the way she did. A lot of it was Dad's fault. You just deal, even if it's frustrating as hell," she advised.

"She can be born with four arms and I'll love her regardless," he insisted, half-smiling at Amber. "Anyway, I just want her to grow up in a happy environment and nothing like how we had to grow up. Take her to a ball game, do the cheesy father-daughter dances at her school and actually have fun. Stuff like that."

"Spy through the peephole when her first date ends on the porch?" Amber teased and he sheepishly grinned in response. "Oh, and if you and April are uncomfortable talking about sex with Abby and the boys, their Aunt Amber's got it taken care of. I've got picture books."

He rolled his eyes and laughed. "Whatever." Both of them heard April calling for him from her room, so they walked inside. She was taking deep breaths as another contraction erupted. He sat on the edge of her bed and rubbed her shoulders. "How ya doin'?"

His fiancée inhaled sharply. "I've been better," she sighed, closing her eyes to concentrate on her breathing. "I'm not at ice chips level yet. Where's Dr. Montgomery? I want to know how dilated I am. Actually, can you check for me? You're a doctor too, so just look."

Alex uncomfortably shifted on the bed. He had seen many vaginas over the years, but he somewhat felt uneasy looking at hers. And it wasn't as if he never experienced delivering a baby in the past. "Uhh… why don't we just wait for Addison to come?" he reluctantly suggested.

April furrowed her eyebrows at him. "You've seen me down there before, so just check!" she instructed. "What are you afraid of? It's not like a facehugger's gonna jump out and attack you."

Amber snorted. "Now _that_ would be a sight to see."

"Dude, shut up and get April some ice chips," Alex retorted. He gently caressed April's thigh after his sister left the room. "We should wait for Addison. I uhh, I might screw it up and give you false hope."

"No. You don't want to look because my vagina's probably a hot mess down there and seeing it that way will only turn you off from sex with me in the future," she whined, folding her arms and looking away from him. "Being all in should mean you appreciate me even when I look terrible."

"Huh? I never said I didn't appreciate you. You're just trying to guilt me into checking your vagina and I'm not falling for it." He heard a stifled sob escape her mouth and instantly felt bad. "Dammit, I'm sorry. You're about ready to pop and I'm not helping the matter. I'll look."

Sliding off of the bed, Alex got a pair of gloves and slipped them on. He positioned himself in front of April and squatted down to give her a quick exam. "Uhh… you're about three centimeters dilated," he muttered, removing the gloves.

Pounding her fist against the mattress, she shook her head in disgust. "That's it?!" she exclaimed. "This is my fourth child and my third time giving natural childbirth! Why am I only three centimeters? My vagina should be used to this by now. It should expand after some magic word I say."

The peds surgeon stood upright with a smirk on his face. "Relax, Apes. We haven't been here for an hour yet. Three centimeters isn't so bad."

"Don't call me Apes!" April scolded her fiancé. She picked up a pillow and hit him as hard as she could. "I'm serious, Alex. I will crush your hand when it's time to push."

"Yeesh," he mumbled, avoiding eye contact with her.

Alex came to the conclusion that no matter what he said, he would be the douche in all of this. The best thing to do was keep his mouth shut and listen to whatever April had to say. He hoped she wouldn't be in labor for much longer. Otherwise, it was going to be long day.

* * *

Two hours turned into three and it was moving closer to four. April was almost at full dilation, which was just as torturous for her because she desperately wanted to push. She received an epidural for the painful contractions, but it was slowly beginning to wear off. While they waited for time to pass, various visitors stopped by to check on her progress.

Karen and Alice arrived with the boys after 7 AM, though they spent most of their time in the waiting room. Amber hung out in April's hospital room, studying the nurse who came in and out to assist Addison. Eventually, their friends started arriving for work and visited them. Of course, Lexie and Izzie were the first doctors to show up, gushing over the imminent arrival of Abigail Karev and annoying the crap out of Alex. It was like a revolving door of surgeons until Addison returned for another update.

"How are you feeling, April?" the other redhead asked while she pulled a stool towards the end of the bed.

"I wish I could say I'm numb, but this epidural's almost completely gone," April miserably answered. Her bed was adjusted for her to partially sit up, but any position she was in was uncomfortable. "Please tell me some encouraging news. I've been awful to Alex all morning and I'm sure he secretly wants to punch me in the face."

Alex kissed her cheek. "Nah, I still think you're awesome." He leaned closer to Addison and whispered, "But seriously, give us good news because she's gotten pretty damn feisty."

The OB/GYN smiled to herself as she scooted her stool back. "Well, you're fully dilated now, so let's get you prepped for delivery."

"Oh, thank goodness," April sighed joyously, smiling at Alex. "It's about time."

"Yeah, no kidding," he chuckled. Alex glanced over at Amber, who was lounging on a chair nearby. "Are you staying in here or going? 'Cause if you want to see the blood and the placenta-"

"I'll wait outside," Amber sheepishly intervened, jumping up from her seat.

April reached for her wrist and grabbed a hold of it before she could leave. "Amber, stay. You should be here," she insisted. "I'm sure Alex would…" She paused as another contraction struck causing her grimace in pain. "…love your support."

The younger Karev forced herself to laugh as she nodded her head towards the door. "But shouldn't your mom be in here instead for this? I've probably been obnoxious enough since I got here."

She squeezed Amber's wrist. "My mom was here for Cam and Logan's births. I talked about it with her. She won't be upset, I promise. This is an experience you should cherish with your brother."

Alex understood why April would want the siblings together for the birth of the newest Karev. Besides the two of them, and if he were to include their mother and Aaron, they literally had nobody else for support in their family. He seemed to know more Kepner's and even Avery's than his own bloodline. And prior to Amber's surprise visit months ago, he hadn't seen his sister in almost nine years. His friends at the hospital was his family and he didn't think he needed more than them for support.

But the birth of his daughter with Amber in the room was a big freaking deal for not only the two of them but for April as well. She wanted them to build a strong relationship, so kicking her out of the room would slightly defeat that purpose.

"You're staying, Amber," he declared. "Stand next to April and hold her hand. At least we can all be sore by the time this is over."

Addison positioned herself at the foot of April's bed again after she covered herself with a gown. Slipping on her scrub cap, the nurse helped her with the gloves before she smiled at her colleague. "Okay, on your next contraction I want you to push." She watched her take a deep breath and start pushing. "You're doing great, April. Keep pushing."

Alex brushed aside strands of April's hair from her cheeks, while Amber wiped away the sweat from her forehead. Even though this was the third time giving birth vaginally, it didn't mean it hurt any less. Her grip tightened on both hands as she pushed once again.

"The head's almost completely out. Another push, April," her OB instructed. April did as she was told, screaming in pain. Addison glanced up to see both Karev siblings trying to hide their grimaces and she softly chuckled. "Her head's out now. Just a few more pushes and you're finished."

"So, dude… what does it look like down there?" Amber asked curiously. She peeked her head over the end of the bed and nearly yelped at the sight of her niece's head sticking out. Biting the inside of her cheek, she stepped back and cleared her throat. "That's an image I'll never get out of my head."

After a couple of more pushes, Addison requested one last big push. Once the final push was over, April dropped back against her bed trying to catch her breath. She closed her eyes for a brief moment feeling relieved the hardest part was finished, then she opened them when she heard her new baby girl crying out loudly.

"Holy crap," Alex mumbled under his breath while he stared at his daughter with tears in his eyes. He turned to face April, smiling widely as he kissed her forehead. "You freaking kicked ass, babe. Like for real, you're amazing."

The nurse set a towel on April's abdomen before Addison carefully placed Abigail on top. After drying her off, the nurse handed a pair of scissors to the peds surgeon. "Congratulations, you two. Cut away, Dad," she enthusiastically said.

Alex swiftly cut the umbilical cord like a proud father. Abigail was then wrapped in a pink blanket and her crying had died down by then. His eyes were glued to his daughter, who had a head full of dark brown hair and adorable, round cheeks. At one point, he was certain she had made eye contact with him and she even seemed to scrunch her face into what he believed was the infamous Karev scowl.

April smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Hey there, Abby," she softly greeted the newborn, picking up her tiny hand with her thumb and index finger. "Welcome to the world, baby. I'm sure you're missing that squishy water bed of yours, but trust me, you're going to love living in this side of the world too. Mommy and Daddy already love you so much."

"She's gorgeous," he murmured, leaning forward and placing a light kiss on top of Abigail's head. Alex noticed Amber practically bawling and smirked at her. She could hardly contain her emotions as she dried her eyes with the back of her hands. "Oh, and that weeping loser with us is your Aunt Amber."

"Get off my back, you jerk," Amber sobbed and laughed at the same time. She took a step back towards the door. "I'll go tell everyone else she's here now."

While the younger Karev left the room, April cradled Abigail in her arms. She grinned at her fiancé and extended their baby out to him. "Here, Dad. You need to hold her too."

Alex almost felt like he had no idea how to hold a newborn when April handed Abigail to him. He worked with newborns almost every week, but he oddly grew paranoid about dropping his own. Plus, he was also worried she would scream her lungs out the moment she left her mother's arms like he was some pervert or whatever. Fortunately, she barely let out a peep in the comforts of his much bigger arms.

"What do you think?" He held her up beside his face and sported a cheesy grin for April and Addison. "Is she looking like me yet?"

Addison shook her head, laughing to herself while she cleaned up the trauma surgeon. When she first met Alex he was an immature intern who wanted to become a plastic surgeon and she put him on her service for as long as she wanted to teach him a lesson. Turned out to be one of her best teaching moments because he had shown great potential in pediatric surgery. Now, he _was_ a pediatric surgeon and she couldn't imagine him in any other specialty. Arizona may have groomed him into the doctor he was today, but she influenced him first. And she was also proud of how far he had come as a person as well. Out of everybody in his residency class, Alex Karev went through the biggest transformation.

* * *

It took another hour before April was ready for visitors. She and Alex were both exhausted and lacking sleep, but they wanted the boys to meet their new sister. Karen opened the door, letting Jordan run inside first, followed by Cameron and Amber. Logan was nestled against Alice's shoulder as they all approached the bed.

Climbing onto the bed, Jordan sat beside April and excitedly grinned at Abigail, who was asleep in their mother's arms. "She's our sister?" he asked loudly.

The redhead placed a finger over her lips. "Shh, baby. She's sleeping," she politely reminded him. "But yes, this is your sister, Abigail. You can call her Abby if you want. Just don't call her any mean names, okay? You guys are her big brothers, so you have to look out for her."

Alex helped Cameron get on the bed and placed him on his lap. "See your sister, dude?"

"She's little," the 4-year old quietly said.

"Yup, that's how little you were when you were born," he noted. The middle Avery boy's mouth dropped open as he glanced back at Alex. "Crazy, huh?"

"Where's does da baby come out from?"

"The baby's a sponge that grows in Mommy's tummy, remember?" Jordan answered, using his arms to demonstrate how big the imaginary sponge grew. "And then she poops it out when it becomes a baby."

Alice chuckled at the embarrassed reaction from April. "Hmm… _poop_ isn't the right word, Jordan, but nice try." She set Logan on the bed and let him crawl towards Alex. "She's so beautiful, you guys. How are you feeling, April?"

Her older sister pointed at the bags under her eyes. "I think these explain enough, but I'm good."

Everybody inside were caught off-guard when Shane ran into the room holding various stuffed animals and a bunch of balloons. He had received numerous tempting offers for his fellowship, but opted to stay in Seattle after all. The awkward neurosurgeon brightly grinned at the family, while Alex stared at him like he was nuts.

"Sorry for barging in. I umm… Alice told me to get you and the baby something from the gift shop, but I couldn't decide what to get. So, uhh… I just got whatever they had downstairs," he explained, juggling all of the gifts in his hands. "Oh, and congratulations!"

April smiled at her sister's boyfriend. "Thank you, Ross. You can just set those aside on the table."

Logan pointed at the yellow balloon with a happy face on it. "Bloon!" he blurted out.

"Nice one, Ross. Now you got him more intrigued by a freaking balloon than his new sister," Alex teased. He tried to deflect the toddler's attention back to Abigail. "Hey, Logan. Where's the baby? Where's Abby?"

He immediately pointed at the baby wrapped in pink. "Bab-ee!"

"Mommy, can I hold her?" Jordan inquired.

"Hmm… okay, but you have to be really careful. Hold out your arms in front of you like you're getting ready to catch a ball." April waited for her oldest son to extend out his arms, then she slowly lowered Abigail onto his small forearms while adjusting his hands. "Keep your hand under her head, so her neck has support. Don't move a muscle, dear."

Jordan looked down at Abigail and grinned again. "I'm holding her!" He spun his head towards the doorway where Catherine stood after arriving seconds earlier. "Gramma, look! I can hold Abby 'cause I'm a big boy. I'm a daddy too!"

Mama Avery laughed, along with the others. "You really are a big boy, holding your sister all by yourself." She approached the bed to take a look at the newest addition to the family. They weren't related by blood, but she considered Abigail Karev to be a part of her family too. "Oh, what a doll. So precious, you two."

"We need a picture of all of us with the baby," April proposed. "Shane, my camera is in my purse. Do you mind taking it, please?"

The group of Kepner's, Avery's and Karev's gathered as closely as possible. Shane retrieved April's camera from her purse and aimed it at the happy family. "Smile, everyone. One… two… three." He took the picture, followed by another one just in case. "Sweet. I think I caught Logan smiling too."

Each adult had their turn holding Abigail. They spent another hour visiting the visibly tired parents before leaving them alone to get some much needed rest. Both of them lay on their sides watching their little girl sleep in the bassinet crib beside the bed. As much as they wanted to sleep, they couldn't stop staring at their daughter.

"I bet she'll wake up the second we shut our eyes," Alex whispered into April's ear. His arm was wrapped over her waist as he rubbed gentle circles along the back of her hand with his thumb. "You wanna rock, paper, scissors for who has to get up first?"

She playfully elbowed his stomach and faintly laughed. "You know you'll be getting up first regardless."

He kissed her cheek and buried his nose against her neck. "I love you so much. I would marry you right now in this hospital room if I could."

"Except I would be one horrible looking bride. At least give me a chance to put some makeup on first," she teasingly replied, slowly closing her eyes. "We really should get some sleep before Abby wakes up."

"Mhmm," he hummed, falling asleep with her.

And five minutes later, Abigail's cries disrupted their short nap. Alex opened one eye, a smile slowly forming on his face. It didn't matter to him that his sleeping patterns would be insanely off for the next two or three months. His baby girl was worth every single second spent with her.


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey, folks! We're almost at the finish line of this fic. A lot of this chapter is from Alex's POV :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**_Thanksgiving 2019_**

"Freakin' A…" Alex scrunched his nose in disgust after unleashing the stink bomb that was Abby's dirty diaper. He had changed hundreds of diapers, including his now 3-month old daughter's, but somehow he always lucked out with the smelliest poop jobs. "I'm not sure how many times I've said this, but you're definitely a Karev."

He carefully lifted her up by her tiny ankles and grabbed her diaper with his other hand. The peds surgeon quickly rid of it, tossing it in the trash can beside the changing station. Its contents nearly ruined his Thanksgiving appetite. Cleaning her up with a baby wipe, he decided to give her a pep talk about her first major holiday with the entire Kepner clan.

"Alright, so as you know – or probably don't know – it's Thanksgiving today. Your mom's whole family is in town this weekend. Just to warn ya, she has a thing for large family gatherings. Your grandmother, your four aunts, some uncles, a bunch of cousins and your great grandmother. Your goofy Uncle Shane will be here too and even Aunt Amber's boyfriend with a stupid first name is joining us."

Amber passed her nursing exam in September and she started working at Seattle Grace Mercy West after her brother successfully scored her a job. She spent the majority of her shifts in the ER with April, but her new boyfriend hailed from the Radiology department. Kelvin McLennan was his name. Originally from England, Alex thought he was a nice guy who he trusted enough to treat his sister well, but he hated his name.

_Why the hell would anybody name their kid after a freaking unit of measurement for temperature?_ Alex constantly asked himself whenever they ran into each other at the hospital. Whatever. Still a cool dude.

"Okay, no more gunk on your trunk. Time to powder up that tushy wushy." He immediately grimaced after catching himself rhyming to Abby like he was reading from a Dr. Seuss book. "Dudette, pretend I never said that. All that rhyming cra- crud is because of your mom."

Alex lightly patted powder onto Abby's little bum and strapped on a new diaper. He tickled her belly with his fingertips, snickering at the gurgling sounds she made and the smile on her face. His daughter was a cheerful baby. She smiled nonstop when she was in a good mood and sported the Karev scowl when her crankiness took over. He and April believed she showed characteristics from both of her parents. She had a set of lungs that could make anybody deaf, which the peds surgeon jokingly blamed his fiancée for. Abby chugged down her milk quickly, a so-called talent Alex claimed was from him.

The first month was exhausting. Abby constantly woke them up with her cries every few hours to be fed or changed or simply just to be held. Neither parent got much sleep, especially when one Avery boy would wake up soon after they put their little girl back to sleep. They were practically zombies.

By the second month, they adjusted better to their wacky sleeping patterns. Alex returned to work at the end of the month, while April stayed at home with Logan and Abby, and Jordan and Cameron were at school. She felt slightly relieved having to care for only two children instead of four. Her youngest son was a handful alone, throwing tantrums when he wasn't given enough attention. He was clearly jealous over the newest addition to the family.

April planned to return to work at the beginning of December. She and Alex devised a schedule that allowed them to alternate working days, so one of them would always be at home with the younger children. They wanted to wait until Abby was six months old before bringing her to the daycare at the hospital.

While their friends already considered Alex to be a father to the Avery boys, his own flesh and blood seemed to bring out the super dad in him. On his days off, he sometimes brought Abby and Logan to the hospital just to flaunt his baby girl to his coworkers. He proudly strolled through the hallways with her strapped against his chest in the baby carrier and the 2-year old attached to a leash that April forced him to use because of how easy it was for Logan to wander off.

_"Now he truly is Softy Spawn," Cristina teased him once._

He couldn't care less because he loved being a father and he wanted to be everything his own old man wasn't. And when he had a stressful day at work, coming home to see his family brightened his mood. He used to have a drink at Joe's to unwind, but now he preferred rocking Abby to sleep or reading one of the boys a book before bed if they were still awake by the time he arrived home.

Alex wasn't an expert at dressing up girls, but he was grateful to be with somebody who organized her daily outfits. Neatly laid out on the bed was Abby's attire for dinner. April picked out a brown dress with orange edges and white sleeves. There were small orange bows decorated on the shoulders and a baby turkey – which also wore a bow on its head – on the lower left part of the skirt. Beside the dress were white tights with fake black shoes designed at the feet and an orange headband with a large bow and a felt pumpkin glued on top of it.

He furrowed his eyebrows at the outfit, but he wasn't surprised at how festive she was during the holidays. For Halloween, Abby was dressed in the cliché infant costume – the pumpkin. April already warned him that she wanted their daughter wearing a girly Santa dress for Christmas. On Easter, she would likely be a freaking rabbit. He was okay with it, though, as long as he wasn't forced to do the same thing.

"Don't get mad at me if you don't like wearing this. I didn't choose it," he insisted, picking up the dress. Although he was able to fit her into the dress without any problems, Abby grew fussy when it was time for the tights. And actually, he sort of did too. "I know, I know. I'm not sure how these things work either. That's why I avoided ballet."

The headband was last and he helped her sit up before he put it on her head. Alex chuckled at the disgruntled reaction from the 3-month old, whose chubby arm reached up and tried to touch the accessory on her head. "Let everyone gush over how cute you look first, then you can ditch the headband," he promised, lifting her up from the changing station and kissing her cheek. He positioned her on his forearm as he held her in front of the mirror. "You gotta admit, your mom has good taste in baby clothes."

Abby curiously stared at the reflection looking back at her. She appeared amused by how her movements matched her reflection's and softly cooed. Now that she was dressed for dinner, Alex brought her downstairs. April was busy in the kitchen with Grandma Kate, preparing everything from the turkey to the pumpkin pie. Karen was in the living room keeping an eye on the boys. Alice was working at the hospital, but promised to arrive in time for dinner with Shane. The rest of the Kepners would be arriving from their hotels soon. And Amber was waiting for Kelvin to get off of work before driving to the house.

The only people missing this time around were Catherine and Richard, who flew to Boston for Thanksgiving, but the urologist left behind presents for each child. She gave all the Avery boys different colored sweaters to wear and Abby was given a small charm bracelet that didn't quite fit around her wrist yet.

Alex entered the living room, which had tables set up for dinner. He carried Abby towards the couch where Karen watched TV with Cameron. "I didn't screw up her dress, right?" he sheepishly asked.

"She looks lovely, Alex," Karen answered, standing up and gently pinching her granddaughter's cheeks. She placed a kiss on her forehead, making the baby girl smile. "Have you shown April yet?"

"I'm about to. Just wanted to make sure I dressed her right before I go in there. I know she's been preparing dinner since this morning, so I don't want to freak her out because Abby's tights are on wrong," he explained. Peeking over Karen's shoulder, he watched Jordan wrap a jump rope around Logan, who was seated against the leg of one of the tables. "Dudes, what are you doing over there?"

Jordan wore a paper pilgrim hat he made at school, while Logan had a brown paper headband wrapped around his head with a red paper feather sticking up from the back. "I captured the Indian!" the now 7-year old excitedly declared.

Alex raised his eyebrow curiously as the youngest Avery boy laughed in amusement. He was glad neither kid knew just how morbid the scene actually looked. "Uhh… don't tie him up too tightly, Jordan. We don't need anybody going to the hospital today. In fact, untie him right now before your mom sees what you're doing," he ordered. "Watch cartoons with Grandma and Cam instead."

Despite the whining from Jordan, he followed Alex's directions. After ensuring all of the boys were settled on the couch with Karen, the peds surgeon brought Abby into the kitchen. He used his shoulder to open the swinging door and the smell of cooked food inside made his mouth water. April and Grandma Kate were almost finished as most of the dishes were set out on the counters.

"This little turkey's ready," he playfully announced, carrying Abby towards her mother.

Whatever stress April had endured in the kitchen evaporated at the sight of her baby girl dressed up for Thanksgiving. "Oh, look at how cute you are!" she squealed, using her high-pitched voice to talk to her daughter. Taking Abby from Alex, the trauma surgeon held her in front of her face and brightly grinned at her. "Daddy did a good job making you so pwitty witty!"

More rhyming. Alex could only shake his head as he walked towards the food, ignoring his fiancée's baby talk. He eyed the homemade mashed potatoes and was about to use his finger to taste it, but Grandma Kate intervened and slapped his hand away.

"At least use a spoon, dear," the old woman scolded him and handed him a clean spoon.

Alex smirked as he sampled the mashed potatoes. It was his third encounter with Grandma Kate. The first time he had met her was when she was in town for Jackson and April's wedding. She was somewhat kooky based on the stories he had heard about from the bachelorette party. The second time was at his best friend's funeral. For someone in her mid-80's, she was still full of energy. Her husband, Grandpa Stuart, unfortunately passed away a few years ago, but she remained continuously optimistic about life. Good for her, he thought. That was probably why she was still alive and healthy.

The doorbell echoed in the house and April headed for the kitchen door. "That could be my sisters or Amber. I'll get it. Alex, could you take the turkeys out of the oven, please?"

Yup, _turkeys. _He slipped on her pink oven mitts and retrieved the first turkey inside. It was one of those rare occasions when he was thankful April had been paranoid. She worried there wouldn't be enough to go around for everybody, especially when her fiancé could probably eat one whole turkey by himself.

Alex could hear squeals coming from the living room, which meant her sisters had arrived and they were going gaga over the cuteness that was Abigail Karev. It was their second time meeting their niece. A week after she was born, Libby and Kimmie visited Seattle to see the newest addition to the Kepner clan. He let them gush over his daughter, while he sat back and caught up with much needed sleep.

After taking the second turkey out of the oven, he turned his attention towards April, who returned to the kitchen without Abby. "The vultures snatch her away?" the peds surgeon quipped, smiling when she rolled her eyes at him.

"Libby and Kimmie are here. The whole house is about to get really loud with more kids around. We're just waiting on Alice, Shane, Amber and Kelvin," she answered and placed her hands on her hips after Alex snickered. "No smart ass comments about his name, Alex. I mean it. It's just Kevin with an 'L' shoved in there."

"If you want to put it that way," he sneered. "I don't hate the guy, okay? Dude just has a silly name. And he's good for more than one thing. He occasionally pushes my patients to the front of the line when I need a CT scan as long as nobody's about to die."

"Of course you'd take advantage of him like that," she scoffed.

"You're just jealous because he hasn't done that for you yet."

"Shush." April softly laughed, playfully slapping Alex's arm as she walked past him. "I think everything's ready to be brought out to the table. Let's start bringing the food out. We'll save the turkeys for last."

Alex grabbed a couple of dishes from the island counter. "By the way, the next diaper change goes to you. Abby's last one smelled as bad as a landfill," he noted, scrunching his nose. "If only babies could poop out roses. Maybe I should ask for a gas mask for Christmas. How come I always get the worst ones?"

"It's possible you're just assuming you get the worst diaper changes. A lot of fathers won't even go near their babies when it's time to change them," she pointed out, then she kissed his cheek. "Thank you for not being that kind of father."

"C'mon, young love birds, we don't want to keep everyone waiting," Grandma Kate interrupted their conversation as she pushed the kitchen door open with her backside.

"What a difference a year makes. Last year, we didn't want anybody finding out about us," April recalled, smiling at Alex as she led him out of the kitchen. "This year, my mom's looking forward to you leading the prayer when we say grace before dinner."

Alex chuckled before he abruptly stopped and stared at his fiancée with a puzzled expression on his face while following her out of the kitchen. "Wait. What?"

* * *

**_Christmas 2019_**

The Kepner farm exceeded Alex's expectations. His stereotypical side had anticipated a setting out of _The Wizard of Oz_, but it was more beautiful in person than any picture or description April had given him. Even during the winter, the many acres of farmland was well taken care of by Libby's family since moving from Columbus after Big Joe passed away. There was plenty of space for a wedding. Now he understood why Karen insisted on having them get married at her family's home.

Cramming everybody into one home turned the Kepner residence into a madhouse. Eleven adults, two teenagers, five children and one tiny human. He was fortunate to only be sharing a bedroom with April and Abby. The Avery boys were staying next door in Alice's old bedroom with Libby and Kimmie's children, Mason and Maya.

They were spending a week in Ohio and every morning, Alex was the last person in the house to wake up. By the time he got out of bed, he was alone in the bedroom and chatter from downstairs could be heard. He was never an early riser and April knew that, so she cut him some slack and let him sleep in – at least until eleven o'clock.

His routine wasn't any different on Christmas morning, though he managed to wake up two hours before April would do it herself. The house was surprisingly quieter with light chatter coming from below him. His fiancée's high-pitched voice was one of them, making him softly chuckle while he brushed his teeth. It only meant she was with Abby. When he walked downstairs he found them in the dining room with Karen, Grandma Kate and Logan.

"Where'd everyone go?" he asked, kissing the top of Abby's head as she slapped her hand against the table of her high chair. Everyone had opened their presents at midnight to avoid all of the children's impatience the following morning. "And Merry Christmas again."

"They're all outside, riding the horses on this trail close to the farm," April answered, smiling after Alex greeted her with a kiss. "It's an old family tradition we did as kids on Christmas. Since you weren't awake yet I decided to stay behind and wait for you. Also, I thought I'd test out which solid foods Abby likes. So far, she only spit out the mashed peas. I'm trying squash next."

Alex snickered as he sat across from April at the table. "Even Amber went? I didn't know she could ride a horse. We weren't exactly horse people," he stated while serving himself breakfast. He grabbed the plate full of bacon and set it next to him, grinning at Karen. "Thanks for the extra bacon. This might even top the new watch April gave me for Christmas."

The redhead playfully rolled her eyes at him. "Bacon always tops everything for you," she scoffed. Scooping baby food with a small spoon, she grinned widely at their daughter as she aimed the spoon towards her mouth. "How about some squash now, Abby? Mmm nom, nom, nom."

He watched with a smirk on his face as Abby scrunched her nose and scowled after spitting out the orange colored mush. "That's clearly not a winner," the peds surgeon quipped. "How many different foods did you make her taste? Her taste buds are probably jacked up to want to eat anything else."

"Oh, alright. I'll stop." April wiped Abby's mouth clean before removing her from the high chair. She set her on her lap and let her play with her fingers. "So, do you want to go riding with me when you're finished eating?"

"Do I have a choice?" he replied with a slight grimace. "I've never been on a horse and I don't know how to ride one."

Karen softly laughed. "You're going to marry an expert in horse riding. She can teach you," she pointed out. "Don't tell me you're afraid of horses, Alex. The ones we own on the farm are all friendly to strangers as long as you treat them with kindness and respect."

"_Are_ you scared of horses?" April questioned.

Alex shook his head, laughing off her curiosity. "No, of course not. I'm not afraid of horses or cows or little chickens," he insisted. "Animals don't intimidate me."

_Except for freaking bears who roam around the woods near Meredith and Derek's house,_ he mentally said to himself. There was no way he was going to admit to April and her family that large, brown bears made him scream like a girl.

"Good, then you and I will go riding after breakfast," she chirped excitedly. "Maybe we'll catch up with the others. They only left about twenty minutes ago."

"Enough about horses for now. Let's talk about your wedding," Karen suggested. "What did you two think of Libby's idea for the setting?"

April's oldest sister decided to take charge in planning their wedding in late June. She surprised them with a layout she had drawn of the farm and where everything would be set up, from the ceremony to the dance floor area. Considering Libby had spent most of their lives tormenting April until they finally reconciled their differences, the latter appreciated the effort her sister put in to give her another beautiful wedding.

Alex had the typical male, nonchalant reaction, agreeing to most of the suggestions even though he had no idea what the two Kepner women were talking about. Wedding planning was definitely not his thing. Marrying Izzie wasn't planned nor had he expected Meredith to pull a last minute switcheroo on him, so their dying friend could experience a wedding if she didn't beat her cancer. He was willing to do anything to make April happy… except for one small request.

"Uhh, I'm fine with it, but no square dancing or whatever," he bluntly said, stuffing his mouth with scrambled eggs afterwards. "I'm not a big dancing dude, so the only kind of dance I'll do is the one with the bride."

"But what if she wants to dance with you?" April teasingly asked while holding up Abby in front of her, slightly wiggling her back and forth and making their baby girl smile at Alex. "I think a father-daughter dance would be adorable."

"So is dancing with your grandmother-in-law," Grandma Kate added, pointing her finger at Alex. "I will drag you to the dance floor if I have to, dear. Don't think I won't, young man."

He chuckled, nodding his head towards April. "Now I know where she gets her feistiness from."

The Kepners were persistent in getting what they wanted. He learned that from his fiancée. She wasn't spoiled by any means, but when she wanted something done she nagged him incessantly until she got her way. Before they were together, it bugged the crap out of him. Now, he found it kind of hot mainly because she tried to seduce him at the same time by biting on her lower lip and making her voice deeper. Sometimes it was for the smallest favors like taking out the freaking garbage.

But that made her quirky and different from all of the women he had been with. He really loved that about her.

* * *

The family members were gathered in the living room entertaining themselves by watching the children take turns showing off their dance moves with _Just Dance 11_ on the Xbox. Although Alex refused to go anywhere near the game console, he preferred cozying up with April by the fireplace than out in the cold during their horse ride. Because there was only one horse left for them in the barn, they ended up sharing the saddle, which wasn't so kind to his manly package. Clinging on to the redhead with his arms wrapped securely around her waist was nice, but he felt like a doofus because he didn't have his own horse.

While Jordan and Mason made everybody laugh during their dance battle to a vintage Justin Timberlake song, Alex noticed April's eyes were focused on Shane, who was seated at the bottom of the stairs with his hand fidgeting inside of his pocket. He appeared to be nervously talking to himself, which actually wasn't unusual to them. The neurosurgeon did that whenever he was preparing for a surgery, like he needed to assure himself he wasn't going to screw up.

"What's wrong with that dude?" Alex asked inquisitively, nodding his head at the surgical fellow. "I mean, the guy's always sort of goofy, but he almost looks like a drug addict going through withdrawals based on how much he's sweating."

"Shh, he has something up his sleeve. I can tell," April shushed him. She leaned back against Alex's chest and continued to spy on Shane. It was his first time visiting Moline and he had been trying his hardest to remain on all of the Kepners' good side. There had to be a reason for it, especially when she walked in on him having a private conversation with Karen.

After the latest game finished, Shane shot up from his seat and approached the middle of the living room. "Umm, could I have everyone's attention for a minute, please?" he politely interrupted. He waited for the room to fall silent before he spoke again. "I want to thank you all for letting me spend Christmas with you this year. Alice means the world to me and I'm grateful you've all accepted me into the family."

Karen, who was sitting on the couch, nodded and smiled. "And we're glad she found somebody who makes her happy."

"So, uhh… I am in love with Alice. Like, _really_ in love and I thought today would be the perfect opportunity to do this." Shane walked towards the youngest Kepner sister, who was seated beside Karen, and dropped down on one knee as he pulled out a black box from his pocket, resulting in gasps from some of the female witnesses. "Alice Kepner, the first time we met, you hated me because I took the last turkey club sandwich in the cafeteria and I thought you'd never forgive me for that…"

Alex fought back his laugh as Shane literally broke down in tears as he professed his love for Alice. She had tears in her eyes, but her boyfriend was on the verge of bawling compared to her. Freaking Mr. Sappy. He was somewhat of a softy, which was why Cristina nicknamed him Weepy at one point during his intern year. The peds surgeon desperately wanted to keel over laughing, but a muffled giggle managed to escape his mouth.

April jabbed his stomach with her elbow in response, then he leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Dude, can't even keep it together. You gotta admit it's funny."

"Shh," she quietly shushed him again. Of course she hadn't found the amusement in all of it because she was a sucker for cheesy romance and it was happening to her sister after all.

Looking across the living room, Alex spotted Amber covering her mouth with her hand. He sensed she wanted to burst out laughing just as much as he did because her cheeks were bright red. She was dying inside. It was a relief to know he wasn't the only person who thought the scene was hilarious.

Cheers erupted when Alice accepted Shane's proposal. Her three older sisters were quick to pounce on the newly engaged couple, forming a group hug in the middle of the room. Alex pushed himself up from the floor and gave the neurosurgeon a hard pat on the shoulder.

"Dude, congrats," he acknowledged, then he winked at him. "Next time, let the chick do the bawling."

* * *

**_Valentine's Day 2020_**

Alex stood in front of the large mirror in the master bedroom adjusting the red tie around his neck. Valentine's Day wasn't particularly his favorite holiday of the year. He didn't even consider it a real holiday. However, April was the type of woman who adored the sappy gestures like flowers and candy. He wanted to do something nice and romantic for her because they hadn't done any sort of celebration the previous year. They were both working that day, but he did buy her a Snickers bar from the vending machine to show his appreciation.

They were having dinner at one of those intimate restaurants with dim lighting and overpriced, small portioned plates. Women like April admired that kind of crap, whereas his ideal Valentine's Day was having sex. Lots and lots of sex. Since Abby's birth, they somewhat ran into a dry spell. Their timing was always off. They started bringing Abby and Logan to work with them, but surgeries and busy schedules prevented them from finding time to be alone. And after their shifts were over, they had to take care of dinner and put the kids to bed, leaving little energy for them to do anything else. Also, having sex with their daughter in the bedroom was never going to happen. He hoped this short break from parenthood would be enough to finally regain that intimacy they were lacking.

Somehow, April coaxed Cristina into babysitting for them. Owen was covering the pit that night, leaving her without any Valentine's Day plans – not that she enjoyed celebrating it. She preferred a major trauma over tacky Hallmark moments. While she remained true to never having children, she didn't mind watching her friends' kids. However, she had never been left alone with four tiny humans before. Alex wasn't complaining, though. No babysitter meant no date and most importantly to him, no sex.

Out of the corner of his eye, Alex noticed Jordan watching him from the doorway. "What's up, dude?" he greeted him, sitting down on the bed after he finished fixing his tie. "Ready for bed?"

"Uh huh!" he cheerfully replied, running towards the bed in his Seattle Seahawks pajamas. Jordan climbed onto the bed and plopped down beside Alex. "Mommy said I can watch a movie first with Auntie Cristina because it's a Friday night."

"Cool. Did you sort out all of those Valentine cards from school?"

The 7-year old was already taking after Jackson in the heartthrob department. He came home from school with his backpack filled with Valentine's Day cards from every girl in his class. Both Alex and April were amused to find candy and other small gifts from girls who were a grade above him. Jordan was definitely going to break a lot of hearts before graduating junior high.

"Yeah, but how come some of the girls at school keep trying to pinch my butt?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows at Alex. "And Carly in my class tried to kiss me during recess. Is that what Mommy does to you?"

The older man fought back his laugh and smiled. "Dude, when a girl thinks you're cute they do obnoxious things to get your attention. Kind of like boys picking on girls when they like them. Haven't you done that yet? I bet there's a girl in your class that you like."

Jordan giggled and covered his mouth with his hands. "No. Not in my class," he shyly answered. "She's older than me."

"You want to tell me who it is? If you don't want your mom to hear, then just whisper it into my ear," he suggested, leaning close to the little boy, who whispered a name into his ear. Alex raised both of his eyebrows, forcing himself to smile at him. "Huh, I wasn't expecting _that_, but to each his own."

"I even made a card for her," he added.

"How long have you liked her?"

Jordan shrugged. "I don't know. Do you think she likes me too?" he asked eagerly.

"Uhh, maybe," Alex reluctantly responded. He gently patted Jordan's back and sighed. Poor kid was likely setting himself up for his first broken heart, but he was young. He would probably get over it fairly quickly. "Anyway, did you brush your teeth?"

"Yup! Mommy's in the bathroom with Cammy, Logan and Abby," he said before changing the subject. "Can I ask you somethin'?"

"You can always ask me anything, dude."

"Paul from my class said I can't call you Daddy 'cause you and Mommy aren't married. Is that true?" Jordan slightly pouted at Alex. He had gotten used to calling the peds surgeon by that name, despite the occasional Uncle Alex slip. "And he also said I can't have another daddy just 'cause mine went away."

Alex pulled Jordan onto his lap. "Okay, that Paul kid – he's the one with a geeky bowl cut, right?" The small head in front of him bobbed up and down. "Well, you see… now, don't repeat what I'm about to say because your mom won't be happy with me, but Paul… he's a bonehead. Don't listen to him. You can call me Daddy whenever you want. There's no rule that you can't."

"So what if he tells me that again? Can I punch him?"

"No," he chuckled. "You can't hit anybody no matter how mad you are. It sets a bad example for your brothers and sister, so don't do it."

"Did you hit anybody before?"

The peds surgeon slowly nodded his head. Plenty of people became acquaintances with his fists in the past, including his own father and brother, but he wasn't going to tell Jordan about his troubled childhood until he was old enough to understand. And of course, Jackson had punched him in the past, which was a worse example. "But that doesn't mean _you_ can hit people," he reminded him. "So, umm… if that kid makes fun of you again, just tell your teacher and let her handle it."

April entered the bedroom carrying Abby against her shoulder. "Alex, can you take her for a minute? Cam spilled water all over the floor and I want to clean it up before Cristina arrives." She handed her fiancé their daughter before he could respond and fled for the bathroom again.

Alex glanced down at Abby, who was chewing on her hand. She had started teething the month before and the Karev side of her was more prominent than ever, always cranky whenever she didn't have something to gnaw on. "Cristina's gonna wish she wasn't babysitting alone when you're too fussy to fall asleep."

"I know how to put her to sleep!" Jordan bragged. He jumped off of Alex's lap and ran towards the crib, turning on the music player attached to the side. "That makes her sleepy."

"Nice job, dude." The doorbell rang and Alex stood up, holding Abby in one arm. "That's your babysitter. C'mon, let's open the door for her."

"Wait! I have to get somethin' in my room!"

After Jordan retrieved whatever he was getting in his bedroom, he walked downstairs with Alex, who let his coworker inside. Cristina didn't appear enthusiastic to be there, but she playfully waved at Abby when the 6-month old gurgled and smiled at her. She held a soft spot for the Evil Spawnling after she was named one of her godmothers.

"Looking clean and proper, Karev," the cardio surgeon teased. "Where's the other half of the perky bunch?"

"Upstairs with April. She'll be down soon," Alex answered, then he waved his arm towards Cristina as he looked at Jordan, who hid behind him. "Dude, don't be shy around Aunt Cristina. You're acting like this is the first time you're meeting her. She doesn't bite."

"Only when I'm provoked," she replied in monotone.

Jordan was unusually bashful as he slowly peeked his head around Alex's leg. He was holding something behind his back as he sheepishly approached Cristina. "Happy Valentine's Day," he quietly greeted her, ducking his head while holding up a heart shaped card he created himself. "This is for you."

Cristina took the card from the oldest Avery boy and stared at it with a disturbed expression on her face. She was caught off-guard by the "I Love You" written in the middle. "Oh, God," she muttered after having flashbacks of when Jackson crushed on her during the first year of the Seattle Grace Mercy West merger. "He's exactly like his father."

"You don't like it?" he dejectedly asked, a frown forming on his face.

"Oh, I _love_ it," she enthusiastically said with a cheesy grin and lightly patted Jordan's head. "Thank you."

Alex snickered, smirking at Cristina. "Nice save," he murmured. Turning around at the sound of April's heels clanking against the stairs, he was amused by how frantic she appeared like they were running late. Their dinner reservation wasn't for another hour, but they wanted to ensure they wouldn't get stuck in traffic. She had Logan hoisted against her hip and their jackets hanging on her other arm. Poor Cameron was trying his best to catch up without falling down the stairs. "Everything okay now?"

April quickly nodded, setting Logan on the floor. "Yeah, everything's fine," she breathlessly said. "Hey, Cristina. Thanks again for coming over to watch the kids tonight. I hope they won't be too much of a hassle for you."

"Don't worry about it. I've got this taken care of," the Asian woman insisted. "I have the chloroform ready in my purse if they don't fall asleep when they're supposed to."

The redhead blankly stared at her fellow surgeon before softly laughing. "Oh, right. That was a joke," she awkwardly replied. "So, you won't have to do a whole lot. They all ate dinner and brushed their teeth, so no junk food whatsoever no matter how much they beg. Jordan's allowed to watch a movie before he goes to bed. It has to be animated, rated G and surgical procedures do _not_ count as movies, Cristina. I left a post-it note on the TV with each child's bed time and you know what to do in case of an emergency, so I guess we'll be leaving now."

"Yeah, yeah. Go do you thing – or each other, whatever you plan on doing first." Cristina smugly grinned at the couple as they both glared at her. She took Abby from Alex and picked up her small hand, using it to wave at him and April. "Go away now, Mommy. Bye, bye, Daddy."

Alex wore his dress jacket and kissed the top of each child's head. "Be good, you guys. Jordan, you're the man of the house until we get back, but listen to your Aunt Cristina."

April showered kisses on Abby's chubby cheeks and did the same to her boys. "Bye, babies! I don't want any phone calls from Aunt Cristina telling me you misbehaved."

Cristina practically had to shoo the couple out of the house and let out a sigh of relief when they finally pulled out of the driveway. "Alright, little munchkins. You heard your parents. Don't give me a hard time tonight. My dumb interns already did that today at work," she politely warned them.

Jordan grabbed her hand and led her into the living room. "C'mon, it's time for our date!"

"Okay, but keep your hands to yourself during the movie, Little Avery," she instructed in amusement.

* * *

The sound of heavy breathing and panting filled the motel room as Alex watched April brush aside loose strands of her hair from her face. He could see her chest rising and dropping in the dim lit room and smugly smiled to himself. They had just finished their second round of making love and he wasn't quite ready to throw in the towel yet. Dinner had been relaxing without the stress of food flying across the room because Logan thought it would be hilarious to launch meatballs with his spoon. It wasn't until the trauma surgeon started playing footsies underneath the table that both of them wanted the check as soon as possible.

Her breathing had slowed down and she seemed to be lost in thought while her eyes focused on the ceiling. She crossed her arms on top of the blanket and sighed.

"You okay?" Alex asked concerned. "Do you want to go home?"

"No, no. I'm fine. I don't want to go home yet." She giggled, turning her head to look at her fiancé. "Just give me a few minutes and we can do this all over again. I still have a ton of stamina left in me, I promise."

He pulled her closer to him, allowing the blushing redhead to rest her head on his chest. "I can go for more rounds. We might not be able to have sex again until our freaking honeymoon. Yeesh, that's four months away," he dreadfully said. "I don't know if I can wait that long."

April tickled his chest with her fingertip and smiled. "We won't have to wait that long. Even _I_ can't wait that long and I was a virgin for thirty years." She reached for her cell phone on the coffee table. Normally, the paranoid mother in her would check for messages or calls from Cristina every five minutes or call the cardio surgeon herself to check in, but sex took priority just this one time. "Nothing from home, so I guess this means none of the kids are dead under Yang's watch."

"Speaking of Yang, did you know Jordan has this weird crush on her?" Alex laughed as he thought back to earlier that night when the 7-year old whispered into his ear that he was in love with his Aunt Cristina. "He made her a card for Valentine's Day. Dude was so freaking shy when she showed up at the house."

"Jordan was _shy_ around another person?" she skeptically inquired. "Are you sure Cam's not the one with the crush?"

"Nope. Definitely Jordan. Seriously, you're more surprised about him being shy than his crush on Yang?"

"I think it's cute, especially because it's _Cristina_." April laid her head on Alex's chest again and gasped. "Oh, gosh. He's discovering girls. This means we have to give him _the_ _talk_ soon. He'll no longer believe that babies are made from sponges."

The peds surgeon rolled his eyes. "He's seven. The talk can wait."

She gazed up at him. "But he has Jackson's genes and from what he used to tell me, he was a very horny boy before he was a teenager. Jordan is almost like Jackson in every way possible from the eyes to the athleticism. I bet he'll lose his virginity to two girls at junior prom as well!"

Alex mischievously grinned at April. "And I'll be sure to provide him with the condoms." He chuckled when she slapped his chest in response. "You need to calm down. You're doing that thing when you freak out over nothing just for the sake of freaking out over something like it's a part of your daily schedule."

"You're right," she groaned. "I can't help it. Jordan used to be this adorable, hyper baby. Now, he's this adorable, hyper boy who's crushing on older women. In less than three years, he's going to be ten and I'll be… forty. Oh, God!"

Covering his face with his hand, Alex shook his head as his fiancée had another unnecessary freak out. He decided they had had a long enough break from sex and used his wrestling smarts to flip them over in bed, so he was on top. "April," he murmured, pinning her down and holding her wrists.

"What?" she asked, biting down on her lower lip.

"I'm telling you this nicely – shut up," he answered with a smirk and kissed her to end her rambling.

* * *

**Only one more chapter left! ;)**


	22. Chapter 22

**Well, here's the final chapter! Thank you for reading/reviewing this story. I really hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I had fun writing it :)**

* * *

Measurements, tuxedo fittings, whatever.

The wedding was a month away and while April had completed her own measurements and chosen another gown back in March, Alex purposely delayed his part of the planning until he could no longer make excuses for putting it off. Even through the years of maturing into a less obnoxious man, tux fitting still wasn't a personal favorite of his. The last time he was required to have his measurements taken, the tailor nearly copped a feel on Little Karev. Probably unintentionally, but even being frisked in airports made him uncomfortable.

In order to assure herself that her fiancé wasn't going to ditch his appointment, April asked Mark to accompany him to the Men's Wearhouse. Not entirely random for the plastic surgeon to join him because he was anointed as the best man for their upcoming nuptials. Truthfully, Alex didn't understand why he needed a best man. Tradition had flown out the window when the trauma surgeon decided that all three of her sisters were unofficially maid/matrons of honor. So was a best man really necessary?

He barely had any close male friends to begin with. Jackson was his best friend and Banks had been a tolerable friend until he ended up with Jo. When it came to Mark he couldn't exactly call him a close friend. The older surgeon had always held a small grudge towards him for when he briefly dated Lexie.

Alex would have preferred Jordan to be his best man because he liked the kid more than he ever liked Sloan. Having no best man worked for him as well. Considering the wedding should be one of the happiest days of his life, he wasn't going to complain.

"Is she awake yet?" he questioned, his arms spread out as the tailor measured them. Behind him was Abby's stroller and his 9-month old daughter had been napping since falling asleep in the car.

"Nope. Still knocked out," Mark answered. "Heard she's already walking. Not bad for a 9-month old."

"Not exactly walking on her own yet. She'll stand up, April starts prematurely celebrating and right when she's about to take a step she falls on her ass," Alex responded and snickered. "She's one hell of a power crawler, though. We literally have to chase after her. That's a pretty good sign she'll be freaking awesome in wrestling. She's already got quickness to evade a trap."

The plastic surgeon smirked at him. "She'll be a daddy's girl just like my Sofia, huh?"

He softly chuckled. "She'll be a wrestler, that's for sure."

"Kepner's fine with that?"

"We made a deal. She can dress Abby in all of that girly crap if it means I can sign her up for wrestling when she's old enough," the peds surgeon explained and grinned back at Mark. "We know how to compromise."

"So, what happens when you two disagree?"

Alex slowly shrugged his shoulders. "We argue, then argue some more… but I'll admit I sometimes let her win because let me tell you, she does wonders in bed." He suddenly furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't tell her I said that. She'll kill me."

Mark laughed. "A wildcat under the sheets?"

"Let's just say, when she wants to be on top I freakin' let her be on top," he arrogantly said, exchanging a light fist bump with his colleague. The tailor stared at them awkwardly, then Alex scowled at him. "What? Mind your business."

In the back of his mind, April would most likely give him an earful if she knew he was publicly talking about their sex life and to Mark Sloan of all people. But being able to talk about so-called "guy stuff" was rare for him. The majority of his closer friends were women. Meredith, Cristina, Arizona… hell, even Izzie. None of them would want to listen to him brag about what happens in his bedroom. And he didn't want to know about their sex lives either. For some odd reason, guys were always comfortable discussing this type of crap with their own breed.

Alex was in the middle of having his legs measured when Abby woke up from her nap. He turned his head as she tried to climb out of her stroller. "Dude, Sloan!"

Mark picked Abby up from the stroller and grinned at her. "Hey, cutie! How was that nap of yours?" he greeted her while he adjusted the pink headband on her head. She unsurprisingly sported the Karev scowl as she rubbed her eyes with her fists. "She looks just like you when she's cranky."

"I consider that a compliment," he nonchalantly replied. "You need to move around or else she'll be moody."

The plastic surgeon paced back and forth in front of Alex, pointing him out to Abby. "Who's that over there? That's your daddy," he playfully said, using her hand to wave at her father.

Alex smiled when his daughter cheerfully grinned at him. Now she looked more like April again with her single dimple visibly showing. "Hang on for a little longer, dudette. We're almost finished."

"Maybe you can show your Uncle Mark how to walk," he suggested, setting Abby on the floor and holding her tiny hands.

Watching her wobble from side to side as she tried to stay on her feet, the peds surgeon chuckled at her attempt to walk. She raised her legs as high as possible as if she were trying out for a marching band. Mark decided to let go of her to see if she could walk on her own. Alex's eyes widened when Abby took a few steps without falling.

"Dude, she's walking!" he excitedly said before he gasped. "Oh, crap! She's walking! April's gonna freak out if she doesn't get to see this at all. Sloan, record her with your phone or something before she stops."

"No problemo," Mark said, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. He managed to record about five seconds, then Abby stumbled and fell on her little bum. "Got it. Congrats, Karev. She's an early walker."

Alex couldn't care less that the tailor wasn't finished with his measurements. He stepped off of the platform and lifted Abby from the floor. "Mama's gonna be so proud of you. Well, I am too, of course," he stated, kissing his baby girl's cheek.

Seeing one of her many milestones, and a significant one at that, made up for the time he missed her crawling for the first time. He was working at the hospital when Abby decided to show off her crawling skills at home with April. His fiancée didn't have any video evidence of it because she was too busy shrieking and celebrating to remember to record it on her cell phone. He could let it slide now because he witnessed her first real steps in person.

* * *

"How about that one?" Alice suggested, pointing at her laptop screen. April immediately shook her head at the bright purple lingerie on display. Her youngest sister was helping her find new honeymoon attire, though predictably, everything shown so far had been turned down. Moving on to the next item, she grinned at the fiery red lingerie. "Ah! This one!"

"No way! It's too red. My hair is already red and it's highly likely I'll burn on the beach, so wearing that would only make me look like a walking chili pepper," the trauma surgeon complained. "Why do I need to buy lingerie anyway? Knowing Alex, he will prefer staring at me naked all day."

"Because it's your honeymoon! You have to spice it up a little. Didn't you wear lingerie for Jackson?"

"Yes, but it only lasted for five seconds," April recalled and shyly grinned at Alice. "One glimpse of it and he nearly ripped it off of me. I don't need to waste money on a piece of skimpy garment that Alex will for sure tear apart."

Alice rolled her eyes. "I swear, Apes. The way you're talking right now almost makes you sound like you're a virgin."

She dismissively waved her hand. "Please, no virgin jokes. Cristina and Meredith have been teasing me over the fact that my honeymoon destination is the Virgin Islands. It's been years since I lost my virginity and I thought the Virgin Mary jokes would've stopped by then. I blame myself for letting Alex choose our vacation. He totally did that on purpose."

"Okay, so I probably shouldn't be giving you sex advice because I find it weird and uncomfortable, but wearing lingerie for Alex will be nice foreplay for you two. I mean, let's be real here – with the kids normally around, you two never have any privacy and when you do you just go straight to the point," Alice speculated, playfully thrashing her arms around. "Ripping at each other's clothes, probably already having sex half-naked-"

"Alice!" April scolded her sister. Her cheeks had turned a faint shade of red listening to Alice's teasing. "Fine, I get it. You're going to keep nagging me until I give in, so let's get this over with. And stop picking terrible colors."

The second year resident mischievously grinned as she opened a different category on the website. "Oh! Edible underwear! That's different."

"Are you kidding me? I just gave in to buying lingerie. What makes you think I'll go for _that_?" she retorted, folding her arms. "I'm sorry, but I'm putting my foot down at edible underwear."

"But they have a cotton candy flavor!" Alice received a glare from April and returned to the lingerie category. "Alright, I'll stop pestering you. Do you prefer silky or lacy?"

The redhead covered her face with a pillow. "It doesn't matter to me," she mumbled. She heard the front door opening and she dropped the pillow to quickly close Alice's laptop. "Don't say a word. I mean it."

Alex entered the living room carrying Abby in one arm and a jumbo sized pack of diapers in his other arm. "This house is strangely quiet. Where'd the boys go?"

"Jordan and Henry are having a sleepover and Catherine took Cam and Logan out for the day," April answered before she excitedly grinned at their daughter. She jumped up from the couch and reached for a giddy Abby. "Hey, baby boo! How was your day with Daddy?"

"Sloan didn't send you the video?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"What video?"

Alex groaned, throwing his head back. "Dude!" he irritably responded. "Why didn't he freaking send you the video? Abby was walking!"

April gasped. "She walked? Like, took more than two steps without falling?"

"Yeah. I asked Sloan to record it because I was having my measurements taken. He was able to get some of it, but he was supposed to send the video to you right after it happened," he replied, then he rolled his eyes and grumbled. "Freakin' A. I don't want you to get upset because you missed it."

"No, no. It's okay." She set Abby on the floor and took a few steps back. "Walk to Mommy, sweetie!"

Alex smirked when the tiny human remained seated on the floor and turned around to glance up at him. He playfully shrugged, making the 9-month old giggle and crawl towards him. "You're going the wrong direction," he said, pointing towards April. "Mommy's over there."

Alice fought back a laugh as April clapped and called out her niece's name continuously. "April, stop. She's a baby, not a puppy," she teased. "And she clearly isn't listening you. Maybe it would help if you stood her upright, Alex."

Crouching down on the floor, Alex assisted Abby onto her feet and faced her towards April. "Show her how to use those chubby legs of yours," he instructed, slowly moving his hands away from his daughter. "Do what you did earlier at the store."

Kneeling down a few feet away from them, the trauma surgeon eagerly waved her hands at Abby. "Come to Mommy, please? Even just two steps will make me happy," she insisted. "If you walk, I'll give you a cookie."

He smirked at his fiancée's desperation. Normally, she would scold him for bribing any of the children with sweets, but apparently, she was allowed to break her own rules. "Hypocrite," he teased.

"Shh! Just this once." She softly clapped her hands again. "C'mon, Abby Wabby."

Alex quickly rolled his eyes at April's rhyming, but it worked. High-pitched squeals filled the living room as Abby slowly waddled towards her mother. He plugged his ears with his fingers after Alice joined her sister and celebrated with her own unbearable shrieks.

Scooping her baby girl up into her arms, April kissed her cheeks nonstop until she grew fussy. "Okay, okay. I'll stop smothering you, but you walked! You're such a big girl," she gushed and walked towards the kitchen. "Let's get you your cookie."

The peds surgeon pushed himself up from the floor. "So, what have you two been doing?" he asked Alice.

"Oh, nothing. Just searching for useful things for your honeymoon. You know, whips and chains. That kind of stuff," she quipped, drawing a snicker from him. "I'm trying to help her spice it up a little. I think after four kids she's not feeling quite attractive anymore."

"What? She's crazy. She's freaking hot. Have you looked at her body?" He immediately regretted that question as the younger Kepner stared at him with a disgusted expression on her face. "Well, I meant not in the way I look at it, obviously. I drag her to the gym with me on our days off. Most of that pregnancy weight is gone now. I tell her all the time she's hot. She has no reason to be insecure."

"She's _April_," she reminded him.

Alex nodded in agreement. "Okay, fine. You win."

"What do you think about edible underwear?" Alice innocently questioned, fighting back her laugh. She giggled after he rolled his eyes and walked out of the living room. "It's just a simple question! Geez, people."

* * *

It was another typical day at Seattle Grace Mercy West, but a page to Owen's office made Alex apprehensive. There had been an incident with the father of his patient and he was positive the private meeting had been called for that reason. He hadn't laid a hand on the douchey parent, but certain words that should never be heard by children were said. It didn't make him feel any calmer when he walked into the Chief's office and Arizona was also inside waiting for him. Sometimes he feared her more than anybody else in the hospital.

"Have a seat, Karev," Owen instructed, pointing at the empty seat beside Arizona.

Alex did as he was told, glancing at his boss. She was giving the evil death stare that he absolutely loathed because it meant he was in deep shit. "Before you yell at me, can I just tell you that I didn't start that stupid argument with that idiot father? And for the record, he threatened me for no freaking reason, so-"

"This isn't about that. Mr. Newman's been reprimanded and he won't be going near you again."

"So, uhh… what the hell am I in trouble for this time?" he asked in confusion. "Robbins looks like she wants to rip my head off and I swear, I didn't do crap this time around. You can ask Wilson. We were working together all morning."

Arizona chuckled and flashed her perky smile. "Oh, don't worry. You're not in trouble. I just wanted you to shake in your boots before I share with you the great news," she admitted. Alex scowled at her and she dismissively waved her hand. "Seriously, you'll be hugging me after I tell you the news."

"What is it?"

"Hopkins wants you."

"Oh, crap," Alex muttered, running his fingers through his hair and shaking his head. "Look, I can't. I know you're gonna tell me to go, but I just had a kid and moving across the country is impossible right now-"

Arizona grabbed his wrist and gently squeezed it. "No. What I meant was Hopkins wants in on your project. They've heard how successful it's been at Stanford and they would like it to expand to their hospital as well. They're looking into working with South America. Isn't that amazing?" she excitedly announced. "They'll even take care of your monthly visits. Flight and hotel accommodations – you won't have to pay a cent."

"Seriously?" he replied, his scowl forming into a smile. "That's uhh… holy crap. Wow, I never thought my project would take off like this after spending over seven years focusing on Africa."

"Hopkins isn't the only one to notice your project," Owen noted. He exchanged a brief smile with Arizona before facing Alex again. "While you were operating this morning, I received a phone call from the Harper Avery Foundation. Congratulations, Karev. You are this year's Harper Avery Award winner. You will be receiving the award at the end of July in Boston."

While Arizona grinned widely at her former student, he remained frozen in his chair. _The_ Harper Avery Award?

"Dude…" he simply mumbled to himself. "Is this a joke? Because if it is, I won't hesitate to kick your ass, Hunt. You don't joke about something like that to me. I didn't even know I was freaking nominated, let alone a finalist!"

Owen chuckled. "I promise you it's not a joke. Robbins and I agreed that it was best if we withheld this information from you. We didn't want you feel distracted throughout the selection process because it _is_ a big deal, but we were fully aware of this since December," he explained.

"But why me? I've been fixing these sick kids since my residency. Why are they just noticing me now?" he skeptically asked. "Of course this is pretty damn unexpected and exciting, but I don't understand. I haven't invented some breakthrough surgical technique or anything like that."

"The Harper Avery Award isn't just about pioneering a new surgical technique, Karev. Surgeons can also win based on their research, journal publications, clinical trials and in your case, your project has saved thousands of children who wouldn't have been able to receive the treatment they got here in their home country," Arizona acknowledged. "Plus, none of us knew how long we'd be able to keep this running and not only is it still going strong but we've expanded to one prestigious hospital and we're about to join forces with another. That's huge."

"Not to mention, we've been able to save over 90% of the kids since your project started," Owen added. He stood up and extended his hand out to Alex. "Again, congratulations. You're just the second Seattle Grace surgeon to win this since Preston Burke."

Still in complete shock over the news, the peds surgeon could barely grip his boss' hand as he shook it. From now until the day he died, he was going to be Alex Karev, Harper Avery Award winner. Even Cristina, whose ultimate goal was to join the celebrated list of world renowned surgeons, hadn't accomplished that yet. He was in the same boat as freaking Ellis Grey.

When he first entered Seattle Grace Hospital as an intern nobody had heard of any doctors named Karev. Just a guy with a tough exterior but soft on the inside. A guy who grew up in a crappy home and wanted to become something great. Now, people were going to know his name and for good reason.

It felt pretty damn great.

The first person Alex wanted to share the news with was April. He had frantically rushed downstairs to the pit, but it turned out she was upstairs in the attendings lounge. Being too impatient to wait for an elevator, he sprinted through the flights of stairs to the fifth floor, bursting into the lounge and startling his fiancée, along with Meredith and Cristina, who were inside having lunch.

"Alex, what's the matter?" the redhead asked concerned. He was sweating profusely and breathing heavily against the doorway. She approached him, taking his hands into hers. "What happened? Did something happen to one of the kids?"

He grabbed her by the waist, dipping her towards the floor and kissing her passionately in front of their colleagues. Meredith and Cristina watched in amusement from the dining table as April appeared dazed and confused by his sudden PDA.

"Are we about to witness another Evil Spawnling being conceived?" the cardio surgeon quipped. "Mer and I are almost finished eating, so can you two wait a few more minutes before you start staining the furniture with your nasty sweat?"

"I uhh… I'm not sure what's happening here," a blushing April softly said, placing her hand against the table to maintain her balance. The way Alex had kissed her left her weak in the knees. And he was surprisingly in a better mood than usual, grinning from ear to ear, which was a rarity. "Alex?"

Resting his hands on his hips, Alex decided to share the smaller news first. "Hopkins wants my project to expand to their hospital. They saw how good it was working out at Stanford that they're offering to throw money at Seattle Grace Mercy West to be a part of it too," he proudly announced. "First it was Africa, then India and now we'll be working down in South America. Freaking awesome, right?"

April threw her arms over Alex's shoulders and kissed his cheek. "That's great news! Pretty soon, your project will be all over the world."

"Wait, there's more." He moved away from her, pulling out a chair. "Maybe you should sit down. I'm telling you now that what I'm about to share with you three is beyond what I ever imagined. Like, I still can't even freaking believe that it's happening to me."

"What? Did you win the Harper Avery Award?" Cristina jokingly asked, sharing a laugh with Meredith. Her face dropped after her friend stayed silent and simply grinned back at her. She dropped her fork and pointed her finger at him. "Shut up! No, you didn't!"

"You're looking at this year's winner of the Harper Avery Award," Alex gloated. All three women stared at him speechless, their mouths almost wide open. "I know, huh? I had no idea I was up for the damn thing. Hunt just told me about fifteen minutes ago."

Meredith jumped up from her seat and hugged her friend. "Alex Karev, just when I thought you couldn't surprise me anymore you've done it again," she congratulated him, pulling away with a smile on her face. "You definitely deserve it. Derek and I wouldn't have met Zola if it wasn't for your project. It's about time you received recognition for this."

"It all feels like a dream. How does a guy like me win the Harper Avery?"

"Stop selling yourself short. You've always been better than you think," Cristina insisted. She hesitantly leaned forward to hug Alex until Meredith pushed her into his arms. Although she felt slightly bitter that Evil Spawn won the Harper Avery Award before she did, she couldn't deny her happiness for him. "Congratulations. I love and hate you at the same time right now."

"When are you receiving the award?" Meredith inquired.

"End of July in Boston," he answered. "You guys will come, right? You and Yang are two of my oldest friends here, so it should be mandatory or whatever. Dude, haven't you been to one of these? Your mom won twice and all."

"Yeah, but I was likely rebelling and hating life when she won. So no, I never attended those ceremonies," she truthfully replied. "But I will gladly be there to support you, Alex."

April's light sobbing caught the threesome's attention. She dried her eyes with the sleeve of her lab coat and cleared her throat. "Don't mind me. I just- I just thought my ties with the Averys would prevent you from ever winning, so I'm very relieved and elated at the moment. Who else knows about this?"

"Besides Hunt and Robbins, just you three. I wanted to tell you first before it spreads all over the hospital. You're about to marry a Harper Avery Award winner after all," her fiancé smugly said.

"Don't get too cocky now," she playfully scolded him. "I still have three weeks to pull out if I want to."

"Our Evil Spawn won the Harper Avery. Hell has officially frozen over." Cristina smirked at Alex as she and Meredith dumped their trash on their way to the door. "This calls for celebratory drinks at Joe's."

"Yes. It's mandatory, Alex," the general surgeon agreed. "Congratulations again."

After the two women left the lounge, April tugged on the lapels of Alex's lab coat and grinned. "How does it feel to join elite status?" She bounced onto her tip toes, pecking him on the lips. "Do you realize you beat thousands of top class surgeons who have been yearning to win this award since before our residency?"

"It's freaking crazy, I know. It hasn't sunk in yet. It's like the best wedding present ever!"

"I don't have to report to the ER just yet. What do you want to do?"

"Do you really have to ask?" he chuckled, taking her hand and leading her out of the lounge to find the nearest on-call room.

* * *

The wedding was one week away and April and Alex were spending that final week in Moline. Her family had made plans leading up to their outdoor wedding on the farm, but she couldn't fly home without visiting Jackson and her Mercy West friends at the cemetery. She visited them every month. Sometimes with company, sometimes she was alone. For this particular visit, she wanted to do it by herself. Just her and the best friends who left too soon.

She placed fresh flowers beside their headstones and sat down on a blanket across from them. "Hey, you guys," the redhead timidly greeted them. Even though she had grown comfortable talking to thin air, there would always be a sense of awkwardness, especially when somebody just happened to pass by and notice her talking to herself.

"This upcoming weekend's a big one. I'm getting married again… to Alex Karev. Okay, I know you already knew this stuff, but now it feels like one of those moments when I need to be pinched. My mother's getting the dream wedding she envisioned for one of us to have on the farm. Everything finally feels normal for once. Well, Alex won the Harper Avery Award, Jackson. His project had been doing well at Stanford and it's expanding to Hopkins now. It's still a shock to almost everyone at the hospital, but we're all really happy for him."

April had a feeling Jackson would have been excited for his best friend. Maybe she would never win the Harper Avery Award, but her sons – all the spitting images of their father – were a hundred times better than the prestigious award named after their great grandfather.

"I bet you would've given him tips on how not to screw up his acceptance speech next month," she continued, picking at a blade of grass in front of her with a smile on her face. "And you'd be defending him against the naysayers who would claim their works were more impressive than his. Alex definitely deserved the award. It's not easy starting up a program like his and keeping it running for as long as he did. Not every doctor's willing to operate on sick kids for free, but this just shows how big of a heart he actually has even if he doesn't always show it."

She was beginning to feel the awkwardness she had anticipated during the drive to the cemetery. Praising her future husband to her past, deceased husband?

Yeah, that was weird.

"Being with Alex feels… right. I don't want to say that I feel like I've completely moved on because it makes me think you're just a thing of the past, like you're not important to me anymore," the trauma surgeon confessed. "And it bugs me that I have to keep saying it out loud. I'm sure you don't need me repeating that every time I come to visit. But I do think I've moved on without feeling guilty. I'm happy. Our boys are well-behaved and they love having Alex as their stepfather. They look out for their sister. Jordan and Abby, they're inseparable. He's always been a great big brother. You're the reason for that."

She quickly blinked her eyes to dry the tears in her eyes. No matter how many times she told herself she wouldn't cry, it always happened during every visit. She wore her heart on her sleeve. That was never going to change.

"Here we go. I'm crying again," she softly chuckled. April glanced up at the sky, sighing as she wondered which clouds her friends were watching her from this time. "Everything would be so different if that shooting never happened. Maybe I don't end up with Jackson. Maybe… Charles, you and Reed would be married by now. Maybe Alex becomes a sad and lonely jerk who hates everyone. Things happen for a reason, right? We could ignore the fact that fate can be such an asshole sometimes."

As much as she would love to be reunited with her fellow Mercy Westers one day, April hoped that moment wouldn't come anytime soon. Fate decided to rip Jackson away from her when it wasn't supposed to be his time. She didn't want the same thing happening with Alex. They both had been through enough individually and together. Two years had passed since she lost her first husband, but her life was finally feeling uncomplicated again. She could go to bed at night without worrying she was "cheating" on Jackson. Nobody questioned her relationship with Alex nor did anybody predict that their marriage wouldn't last. Samantha Avery fully supported them, which spoke volumes of how far she had come since she first learned they were together.

During the first week after Jackson died, she struggled to believe things would get better for her. Big Joe Kepner used to remind her that sometimes a person needed to hit rock bottom before their life could become better again. While she managed to keep it together for her children, it would have been harder to move on without Alex. He was always there for her when she needed him, especially when they were living in different states. Perhaps fate never meant for her to be alone for the rest of her life. It just hadn't been straightforward with her.

"I didn't think I would be alright again after you left," April said as she stared at Jackson's headstone. "But I'm a stronger person now. I learned a lot from this. I know if we had switched places, I would want you to be with somebody who could make you as happy as I did. So while I continue to live my life with Alex, I will always remember you were my first for… well, almost everything. I think I can count on one hand the number of firsts I didn't experience with you. I'm thankful to have shared most of my firsts with you, Jackson. I wouldn't want it any other way. Me and you."

* * *

"Hold still, you turd," Amber impatiently told Alex as she adjusted his tie in the living room of the Kepner farmhouse. The guests were outside in the backyard waiting for the ceremony to start. The bride was upstairs with her sisters, while the groom was beginning to feel last minute jitters. "Will you relax? You're just getting married… again."

Alex rolled his eyes at his sister's amusement. "You think I can go without the jacket? It's freaking hot outside. Why, of all days, does it have to be 90 degrees today? If I had known it would be this hot, I would've gone with the tacky, all-white tux. I'm going to be dripping with sweat before April even walks down the aisle."

"Dude, you can take off the jacket _after_ the ceremony and the photo ops. Stop whining like a bitch," she scolded him and laughed at the scowl on his face. Amber took a step back to examine the peds surgeon's tuxedo. No wrinkles and his tie was centered. "You look handsome. Less douchey for sure."

"Shut up," he snickered, nudging her shoulder with the back of his hand. "How does April look?"

"I don't want to spoil you, but she looks really, really beautiful. You'll see her in a few minutes, so be patient for once."

Mark entered the living room and patted Alex's back. "Are you ready, Karev? I've got your runaway horse ready out in front if you decide to change your mind," he teasingly said.

"I'm not changing my mind. No freakin' way," he insisted, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his handkerchief. "You got the rings?"

"Nestled safely in my jacket," the plastic surgeon confidently answered.

"Alright. I'll meet you out there." Alex gestured his hand towards the back door. "You and Amber should go ahead. I'll be out in a minute."

He paced back and forth alone in the living room with his hands inside of his pockets. The sounds of heels hitting against the hardwood floors above him let him know April and her sisters were making their final adjustments with her dress or whatever she was worrying about. Soon after, their voices echoed and grew louder as each Kepner sister marched down the stairs. Libby, Kimmie and Alice were wearing matching light pink dresses.

"Alex, what are you still doing in here? You're supposed to be outside!" Libby panicked. She approached her future brother-in-law and aimed her bouquet at him. "If you're backing out now, I'm going to kill you for destroying my first planned wedding. I worked extremely hard to make this perfect for April and-"

"I'm not backing out, I swear," Alex interrupted, waving his arm to shoo them away. "There's been a last minute change in plans. Just do what you originally planned on doing, okay? I'll wait for her here."

"You promise you're not cancelling?"

"If I was, I would've bailed months ago." He could hear music faintly playing outside. The ceremony had officially started. "I'm pretty sure that's your cue to make your grand appearance. You don't want to throw off the schedule, do you?"

The Kepner sisters nearly rushed into the kitchen to prepare for their short trip down the aisle. As Alex watched them from the living room, April slowly walking down the stairs caught his attention. She had chosen a simpler, strapless dress. Not as flashy as the gown she wore when she married Jackson and one that wasn't too long for her to trip over. Considering it was a sauna outside, she felt even more satisfied with her selection. Her auburn hair had been neatly pulled up, opting out of the veil the second time around.

He stood at the bottom of the stairs, smiling at how gorgeous she looked. She, on the other hand, was confused by his presence. The plan was for her to walk herself down the aisle.

"Alex, is- is something wrong?" she worriedly asked.

"No, everything's fine," he calmly replied, extending his hand out to her. "You look… just as beautiful as you did when I walked you down the aisle the first time."

"Wait. You're walking me again?" April briefly recalled the moment Alex had walked her down the aisle during her and Jackson's wedding. Her father wasn't alive to do the honor and her fiancé volunteered to be the man to take his place. It was touching then, but slightly unusual now. "You can't walk me down the aisle. You're the groom this time."

Alex slowly shook his head. "Is it that big of a deal? Hunt and Yang walked together when they got married," he pointed out and shrugged. "I don't see why we can't do it either. Listen, I've already seen you in your dress and I don't believe in bad luck today. Nothing is gonna go wrong. It's our day, so let's enjoy every second of it together. I'll carry you out there if I have to."

She laughed as she grabbed a hold of his hand and carefully finished walking down the last few steps of the stairs. "You look really nice yourself," she complimented, running her hand against his smooth jacket. "Before we go out there, do you want to tell me anything that'll make me cry and force me to fix my makeup in less than a minute?"

"Umm…" He pursed his lips, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. "…you're a freak and… I love you."

"And I was hoping you were saving that for the vows," April sarcastically said, sharing a laugh with him. "But that was sweet – in a peculiar way. Very Karev of you to say that, which is why I love you too."

Alex led her to the back door, stopping in the doorway. It would be the second marriage for the both of them, so it felt appropriate to take that second plunge side by side. Just like he had suggested two years ago after Jackson passed away, they would get through it together.

* * *

From the beginning of the ceremony to the bride and groom's first dance, Alex refused to leave April's side. He followed her everywhere she went. It didn't take long for Cristina to joke that his new wife already had him wrapped around her finger. But they were married now. Why would he want to stay away from her?

Meredith and Cristina found a smidge of time to lure Alex away from April, to his dismay. They brought him to the side of the house, away from the wedding reception, where Izzie was waiting for them. He had no idea what their intentions were, but he sensed they were up to something.

"Alright, it's either I stepped on animal crap or somebody was too lazy to go inside of the house to use the bathroom," Cristina complained as she stared at the bottom of her shoe in disgust.

"What the hell are we doing over here?" Alex asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "I'm trying to enjoy my freaking wedding day."

Izzie handed him an empty champagne glass and held up a bottle. "Well, Mer, Cristina and I agreed that the four of us deserved a few minutes alone together. We first met as interns and now, we're all happily married and content with how our surgical careers played out," she declared. "Remember when we were just worried about surviving our first day? Look at us now. We're not babies anymore."

"George would've came back from the army all muscled up and badass," Meredith implied.

"In some ways, April _is_ George," the cardio surgeon quipped, drawing a scowl from Alex. "What I'm saying is they shared the same type of awkwardness and humility. And hey, they both decided to become trauma surgeons."

"Fine, I'll admit I miss the dude as much as you guys, but I don't want to look at my wife and think I married O'Malley," Alex argued. "Something like that can completely ruin my sex drive."

"And who would've thought Alex would end up with the most kids?" Meredith teasingly asked. "You're definitely worthy of winning a Father of the Year award."

Cristina scoffed. "Forget it. He already won the Harper Avery. He can't hog _all_ of the awards."

Izzie poured champagne into each of their glasses. "Am I the only person who wasn't surprised he won?" she gloated, grinning at her friends. "I always knew he had the potential to become a surgical rock star."

"It's a little too late to remarry him now," Cristina jokingly replied.

The blonde doctor laughed, rolling her eyes. "Oh, shush. There's nothing wrong with being proud of him. To start from the bottom and finish on top, Alex is a great example of perseverance, even if his attitude wasn't always appreciated."

"You were also a major help to April after Jackson died," Meredith added. "If somebody told me during intern year that you'd grow up to become a great father and a Harper Avery Award winner, I would've laughed my ass off. I'm glad you proved us all wrong."

"To proving you chumps wrong," Alex playfully toasted, raising his glass. "We survived more than just residency that's for sure."

"Cancer," Izzie said.

"A bomb scare," Meredith replied.

"A freaking plane crash," Cristina bitterly joined in.

"Hospital shooting," Alex muttered. "It'd have to be the apocalypse for us to be knocked off the face of the Earth entirely."

The four surgeons tapped each other's glasses before sipping their champagne. Their private meeting was interrupted by tiny human voices quickly approaching them. All three Avery boys in their mini tuxedos ran towards their stepfather.

"Mommy said it's time to cut the cake, Daddy!" Jordan chirped, tugging on his hand.

Alex sheepishly smiled after his friends gushed over being called Daddy by the little boys. He held on to Cameron's hand and picked up Logan with his other arm. "Alright, let's go cut the cake."

Jordan grabbed Cristina's hand and brightly grinned up at her. "C'mon, Auntie Cristina. We can share."

Meredith laughed as the cardio surgeon glanced back at her, pleading for help while she followed the 7-year old back to the reception. She found his crush on her amusing and adorable at the same time.

Cutting the cake turned into a small food fight when April thought it would be hilarious to smash her piece into Alex's face. He returned the favor before planting a frosted smooch against her lips. Jordan decided to join the fun, grabbing a chunk of cake with his hand and throwing it at Cameron, who then reached for his own piece and smothered it all over Logan's hair. The 2-year old shrieked loudly and grew frustrated because he wasn't tall enough to reach the table.

By sundown, guests were back on the dance floor, which was decorated with colorful lanterns that illuminated the area. Alex held Abby high enough for her to swipe at the pink lantern hanging above her. She giggled cheerfully as the bright pink light kept her awake and entertained.

"Your mom really made sure pink was your color, huh?" he asked with a smirk.

April walked towards them carrying a sleeping Logan against her shoulder. "This little boy exhausted himself with his dance moves," she said, standing beside her husband while she watched Jordan dance with Cristina. Her coworker simply stood in place as her oldest son appeared to be attempting to breakdance in front of her. "Isn't he so cute? Yang looks like she wants to shoot herself and he doesn't seem to notice."

"Little dude thinks he's already a ladies' man," Alex casually said, bouncing Abby against his forearms. "Now if only he would realize there are much better choices out there than Yang."

She gently slapped his shoulder and laughed. "Everyone had an awkward crush on somebody growing up. Mine was probably my choir teacher. He had this unattractive bald spot, but his voice was pretty sexy," she recalled, drawing a puzzled look from Alex. "What? Didn't you have a crush you were embarrassed to admit before?"

He smugly grinned at his wife. "Well, I'm not embarrassed anymore. I freakin' married you, didn't I?"

"You're such a smart ass," she chuckled.

"You love it."

"Shut up."

"You shut up," he retorted, kissing her cheek. "I'm a Harper Avery Award winner now. You can't talk to me like that."

April rolled her eyes and laughed. "You are so-"

"Irresistibly charming? I'll take ruggedly handsome too. Whichever sounds sexier to you."

Alex smiled and wrapped one of his arms around April's shoulder, pulling her close to his side. He was definitely loving life now. A wife who understood his complicated history, well-behaved children, a respected surgeon. He felt like he was on top of the world.

Looking back at his wife, they were once bantering friends who typically couldn't stand to be in the same room together for more than two seconds. Then one unfortunate event brought them closer than ever. It wasn't the smoothest journey, but it was all worth it in the end.

* * *

**Let**** me know what you think of the story as whole please! Again, thanks for reading and I will definitely be writing more AK2 in the future ;)**


End file.
